BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//B-Side Presents: Hot Docs 2008//iCal4j 1.0//EN VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080417T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080417T202500 SUMMARY:Anvil! The Story of Anvil DESCRIPTION:At the age of 14\, best friends Lips and Robb Reiner make a p act to rock together forever. Their band Anvil\, hailed as the "demigods of Canadian metal\," influences a musical generation including Metallic a\, Slayer and Anthrax. Though Anvil never makes it big\, they never sto p playing or believing. Following a calamitous European tour\, Lips and Robb\, now well into their 50s\, set off to record their 13th album\, Th is Is Thirteen\, in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dream. Whi le filmmaker Sacha Gervasi\, a successful screenwriter (The Terminal)\, has an eye for some of the implicit humour here\, what prevails is his r espect for the perseverance and passion that drives Anvil. Yes\, they do have an actual "11" setting on the volume knob. However\, their stamina \, even while hanging onto their day jobs\, makes Anvil the real deal\, and this the rock doc of the year. \n -Sean Farnel CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Winter Garden Theatre URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/anvilthestoryofanvil_hotdocs20 08;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61791797-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080417T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080417T231000 SUMMARY:Air India 182 DESCRIPTION:On June 22\, 1985\, Air India 182 left Montreal\, bound for D elhi. It never made it. Four hours after takeoff\, a bomb ripped through the baggage compartment and the plane disintegrated\, killing all 329 p eople\, mostly Canadians\, on board. The bombing was the result of a Van couver-based conspiracy\, whose members were under investigation by CSIS in the preceding months. It was Canada's first devastating experience w ith international terrorism and\, until 9/11\, was the most lethal act o f air terrorism in history. Air India 182 is a first-person account of t he Air India conspiracy and its tragic aftermath\, as told by those dire ctly involved. They include family members\, investigators\, airport per sonnel and rescue workers. Together\, they reconstruct the final weeks\, days and hours before the flight disappeared off the radar screens and their lives were changed forever. Sturla Gunnarsson\, one of Canada's pr eeminent filmmakers\, presents these events with restraint and respect. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Winter Garden Theatre URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/airindia182_hotdocs2008;jsessi onid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61790621-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T113000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T122800 SUMMARY:The Chair DESCRIPTION:The Chair is a compelling account of the fight of lawyers Don Moore and Louis Nizer to save convicted murderer Paul Crump from the el ectric chair. The film begins five days before the scheduled execution d ate. Their argument supporting sentence commutation is based on testimon y from Crump's prison warden and others that Crump had changed for the b etter during his nine years in prison. This argument for clemency based on a prisoner's reform would set a legal precedent. The Drew team record s some unexpectedly intimate moments. Moore\, full of conviction and ene rgy\, has been lobbying the Catholic Church for support. When he receive s a call informing him that the church has decided to back Crump's commu tation\, Moore breaks down and cries. The Chair is a poignant social doc ument still relevant some 50 years later\, when controversy regarding th e realities of prisoner reform and the death penalty still exist. \n -Sh annon Abel CATEGORIES:Outstanding Achievement: Richard Leacock LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thechair_hotdocs2008;jsessioni d=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61929772-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T151000 SUMMARY:Air India 182 DESCRIPTION:On June 22\, 1985\, Air India 182 left Montreal\, bound for D elhi. It never made it. Four hours after takeoff\, a bomb ripped through the baggage compartment and the plane disintegrated\, killing all 329 p eople\, mostly Canadians\, on board. The bombing was the result of a Van couver-based conspiracy\, whose members were under investigation by CSIS in the preceding months. It was Canada's first devastating experience w ith international terrorism and\, until 9/11\, was the most lethal act o f air terrorism in history. Air India 182 is a first-person account of t he Air India conspiracy and its tragic aftermath\, as told by those dire ctly involved. They include family members\, investigators\, airport per sonnel and rescue workers. Together\, they reconstruct the final weeks\, days and hours before the flight disappeared off the radar screens and their lives were changed forever. Sturla Gunnarsson\, one of Canada's pr eeminent filmmakers\, presents these events with restraint and respect. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/airindia182_hotdocs2008;jsessi onid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61790824-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T161500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T174000 SUMMARY:Anvil! The Story of Anvil DESCRIPTION:At the age of 14\, best friends Lips and Robb Reiner make a p act to rock together forever. Their band Anvil\, hailed as the "demigods of Canadian metal\," influences a musical generation including Metallic a\, Slayer and Anthrax. Though Anvil never makes it big\, they never sto p playing or believing. Following a calamitous European tour\, Lips and Robb\, now well into their 50s\, set off to record their 13th album\, Th is Is Thirteen\, in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dream. Whi le filmmaker Sacha Gervasi\, a successful screenwriter (The Terminal)\, has an eye for some of the implicit humour here\, what prevails is his r espect for the perseverance and passion that drives Anvil. Yes\, they do have an actual "11" setting on the volume knob. However\, their stamina \, even while hanging onto their day jobs\, makes Anvil the real deal\, and this the rock doc of the year. \n -Sean Farnel CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/anvilthestoryofanvil_hotdocs20 08;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61791852-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T194800 SUMMARY:Club Native DESCRIPTION:Falling in love with the wrong person can have devastating re percussions for Mohawks on the Kahnawake reserve in Quebec. Award-winnin g director Tracey Deer takes a courageous look at her home community\, r aising questions of identity\, history and tradition through the lives o f four inspiring Mohawk women. With warmth\, depth and humour\, stories unfold about the heartbreaking costs of "marrying out" of their Mohawk N ation\, the challenges faced by kids of mixed backgrounds\, and the conf lict between love and preserving the fabric of their community. Having c hildren with the men they love can mean forfeiting their offspring's leg al native status\, including the right to live with their families on th e reserve. The film doesn't flinch from the history of Canada's racist a nd sexist government policy\, including the brutal force used against th em during the Oka Crisis in 1990. A groundbreaking film and a powerful s tory of the triumph of love and the human spirit. -Lynne Fernie\n\n Co -presented with imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum, Featured LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/clubnative_hotdocs2008;jsessio nid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61798605-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T184500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T193700 SUMMARY:Shock Waves DESCRIPTION:Despite the signed peace accords of 2003\, millions continue to die in the troubled Democratic Republic of Congo\, home to some of th e worst human rights violations in the world. But there is a ray of hope . Radio\, once a means for spreading propaganda and hatred\, is now bein g used as a tool for justice and truth. For six years internationally fu nded independent Radio Okapi has been broadcasting from the frontlines a nd giving the Congolese people a voice. Under the constant threat of vio lence and death for their critiques of those in power\, more than 100 jo urnalists from Radio Okapi expose injustice and corruption wherever they find it. Its existence has become a lifeline for the people\, offering hope of a future with unity and peace. In the words of senior reporter J ules Ngala\, "When people tell us these stories\, we are revolted\, but our only weapon is the microphone. It makes us fight harder." -Gisèle G ordon \n\n Co-presented with ReelWorld Film Festival. CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/shockwaves_hotdocs2008;jsessio nid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61805998-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T201900 SUMMARY:Life. Support. Music. DESCRIPTION:From Independent Spirit Award-nominated director Eric Daniel Metzgar (The Chances of the World Changing\, 2006) comes a beautiful and inspiring story about recovery\, family and music. Jason Crigler\, a br illiant guitarist living and working in New York City\, suffers a debili tating brain hemorrhage during a 2004 concert in Manhattan. The doctor's prognosis is dire\; it is doubtful he will ever walk\, play guitar or b e able to live outside of a facility again. His pregnant wife and family refuse to accept this future for Jason. Instead\, they decide to take h is recovery into their own hands and reactivate his brain with daily sti mulation and countless acts of love. Will Jason be able to make this epi c journey and return to his old life? Told with remarkable humanism and sensitivity\, Life. Support. Music. is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and to the power of relationships.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/lifesupportmusic_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61812638-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T194500 SUMMARY:Ex-voto for Three Souls DESCRIPTION:This lyrical doc explores with sensitivity and breathtaking i magery the lives of three Mexicans who live\, like many\, on the edge of hope. The lives of a boxer\, a fisherman and an ailing old woman are in tertwined. Each prays to God to deliver him or her a specific miracle. M eanwhile\, they struggle to survive. Ex-voto For Three Souls is a film a bout the unbelievable human capacity to resist\, adapt and create.\n -Sh annon Abel\n screening with SECOND SIGHT CATEGORIES:Made In Mexico LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/exvotoforthreesouls_hotdocs200 8;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61917714-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T195200 SUMMARY:Second Sight DESCRIPTION:Time is the same as it was 3\,000 years ago. It's we who have changed. If we would just slow down\, wander and listen\, maybe we'd se e things we currently don't. Step into the rugged vermillion landscapes of Scotland's remote Isle of Skye and meet Donald Angus MacLean\, one of the last of a generation raised with the Gaelic oral tradition rather t han electricity and television. "Don Angie" is an old charmer\, a man of the church who has listened with an open and curious mind to a lot of " terribly strange stories" in his long life. The camera roves with him th rough gorgeously shot craggy hillsides to the sites of these spine-tingl ing stories of spectres\, ghost cars\, death foretold and the "second si ght." This softly painted portrait of a vanishing era spins an irresisti ble tale that becomes a thoughtful study of life and mortality. \n -Gisè le Gordon\n screening with EX-VOTO FOR THREE SOULS CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/secondsight_hotdocs2008;jsessi onid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61917883-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T200700 SUMMARY:Steypa DESCRIPTION:Cerebral and substantial in its focus\, yet eclectic and funk y in tone\, Steypa explores the relationship between inspiration\, creat ivity\, culture and environment through a collaboration of seven of Icel and's most acclaimed young artists. Gabriela kneads dough and wears it a s a mask\; Ásmundur pours Coca-Cola into empty Fanta bottles\; Kartin bu ilds a small model of a house only to throw it off of a bigger one\; the Icelandic Love Corporation recreates Van Gogh's The Starry Night in lic orice. Mixing elements of realism and performance\, the film frames the phenomenon of contemporary Icelandic art within the international scene through interviews with some of the art world's leading curators and cri tics. The Icelandic word for concrete (Ásmundur's sculpting material of choice) as well as a colloquial Icelandic term for "something weird\," S teypa offers a playful and intelligent discussion of the scene.\n Co-p resented with the Toronto Free Gallery. CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/steypa_hotdocs2008;jsessionid= E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61928920-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T200800 SUMMARY:Emoticons DESCRIPTION:Acclaimed doc maker Heddy Honigmann (Forever\, 2006) goes onl ine to investigate the virtual social lives of teenagers. For six girls with difficult lives\, the Internet is a safe haven where they can be th emselves without fear of being judged. They submerge themselves in a vir tual world\, a world that is increasingly portrayed by the media as "dan gerous." But their online lives are more important to them than their "r eal" ones where they are often ignored by their peers or\, even worse\, bullied and harassed. Honigmann meets the girls first online and then in their homes\, getting right to the heart of the matter: these girls are lost souls in search of contact\, consolation\, help\, friendship and l ove. Online social networks are not going to disappear and Emoticons doe s not take a stance on whether they should. But it sensitively illustrat es that there are children being alarmingly neglected by traditional soc ial systems.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/emoticons_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61908771-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T205200 SUMMARY:The Old Thieves: The Legends from Artegio DESCRIPTION:Winner of the Guadalajara International Film Festival's award for best Mexican documentary\, Old Thieves is an often humorous look at a generation of charming professional thieves who reached the peak of t heir criminal career in 1960s Mexico. The four notorious bandits intervi ewed were legends in their time\, belonging to a subculture of petty cro oks who adhered to a strict code of ethics-they never killed or harmed a nyone they stole from. Many of the thieves became celebrities\; handsome and well-dressed\, their exploits were the stuff of Hollywood crime cap ers. The most famous of the bunch\, El Carrizo\, proudly recalls the tim e he unknowingly robbed the home of the president of Mexico\, and the de al he struck with his nemesis\, a police inspector who had been tracking him for years\, in exchange for his freedom. Intimate interviews and ar chival footage vividly recall a time when the line between criminal and legal was disturbingly blurred.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:Made In Mexico LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theoldthievesthelegendsfromart egio_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61918509-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T222700 SUMMARY:Song Sung Blue DESCRIPTION:In many ways\, the lives and careers of Mike and Claire Sardi na epitomize a certain variation of the rock 'n' roll experience. They f ollow their dream\, work as hard as they can to get that one big break\, that one taste of fame\, only to see it all come undone by turmoil befi tting a Greek tragedy. Or a Neil Diamond song. The Sardinas build a cult following in Milwaukee and Chicago as the Neil Diamond tribute band Lig htning and Thunder. Fame comes first in the form of an invitation from E ddie Vedder to perform with Pearl Jam in 1995. Then a freak accident cha nges Claire's life forever\, sending the singing duo into a tailspin of dire financial difficulty\, family dysfunction and artistic irrelevancy. Authentic dreamers to the core\, Mike and Claire persevere. Their story is one of hope\, faith and unwavering optimism. CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/songsungblue_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61914359-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T221200 SUMMARY:The Demons of Eden DESCRIPTION:In 2005 Lydia Cacho\, a human-rights journalist in Mexico\, i s arrested by police after she exposes a powerful paedophile ring in her book\, Demons of Eden. Cacho gives voice to the young victims of Cancun 's underworld\, delivering a stinging indictment of businessmen Jean Suc car Kuri and Kamel Nacif Borge\, as well as the politicians who worked w ith them on the cover-up. The documentary\, made over an 18-month period \, follows Cacho as she fights the people who are attempting to silence her. Not only does the documentary reveal the rampant violence against w omen and children in Mexico\, it also exposes the dangers that journalis ts face there. Horrifying and powerful\, the doc is a tribute to one wom an's vision and drive to make a difference\, even at the expense of her own safety. CATEGORIES:Made In Mexico LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thedemonsofeden_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61917525-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T223000 SUMMARY:As Slow As Possible DESCRIPTION:On his 18th birthday\, Ryan Knighton was told he would slowly go blind. Now\, 15 years later\, as he loses his last sliver of sight\, he wants to travel to an ancient church in Germany to hear the note cha nge in the 639-year-long organ performance of the John Cage composition "As Slow as Possible." He compares the note to the North Star\, "somethi ng to navigate by" as he prepares to be a non-sighted person. Director S cott Smith accompanies him on his journey as he\, like Cage\, embraces c hance encounters: he meets a man in a bear suit who has seen miracles in India\, young tourists who think he's a rock star. When he gets lost on the way to the church\, a young boy miraculously appears to guide him t he final steps. As we hear the note change\, we realize that the journey and the film are not so much about loss as about the inevitability of t ransformation. \n -Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/asslowaspossible_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61796928-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T221700 SUMMARY:Daddy Tran: A Life in 3-D DESCRIPTION:Six years ago\, 65-year-old photographer Hai Tran fell in lov e with 3-D photography and is on a mission to share its wonders with as many people as possible. His passion for photography began as a child in Vietnam\, continued when he fled with his young family in a small boat with three cameras and a suitcase of photographs\, and culminated in Cal gary where he eventually opened one of Canada's largest vintage camera s tores. Director Siu Ta reveals the history of the family through Hai's w onderful photos as well as intimate and funny stories from his wife and children. Ta captures Hai's ebullience when a moose poses for his camera \, his joy as he shows his work to strangers and his sadness as he is fo rced to close the store. Hai's charisma\, volatile personality and love for photography light up this film. In English and Vietnamese with Engli sh subtitles.\n - Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/daddytranalifein3d_hotdocs2008 ;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61803039-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T230500 SUMMARY:Victoire Terminus DESCRIPTION:It is summer 2006 in Kinshasa\, Congo\, and Martini\, Jeannet te\, Helene and Rosette-four dedicated and outspoken female boxers from the city's ghetto-spar everyday in Tata Rafael stadium\, the same stadiu m where in 1974 Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman. Their coach\, f ormer boxer Judex\, is struggling to organize a tournament with no money to pay his fighters. But the women box for reasons other than financial gain. For some\, it is to defend themselves against abusive partners in a culture of misogyny. For all\, boxing is about empowerment. Meanwhile \, the fight for the presidency of Congo rages as thousands flock to the stadium for political rallies. The women use the ring to take out their frustrations regarding corrupt presidential candidates. Victoire Termin us is a gripping portrait of a contemporary Congo where hope is still al ive for the Kinshasa women who box.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/victoireterminus_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61818915-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T232500 SUMMARY:A Crime Against Art DESCRIPTION:C-SPAN meets the art scene in A Crime Against Art. This film is based on a "trial" staged at an art fair in Madrid in February 2007. In turn\, both trials were inspired by the mock trials organized by Andr é Breton in the 1920s and '30s. All raise a number of polemical issues i n the world of contemporary art: collusion with the "new bourgeoisie\," instrumentalization of art and its institutions\, the future possibility of artistic agency and other pertinent topics. Filmmaker Hila Peleg's t rial begins with the assumption that a crime has been committed\, yet it s nature and evidence are allusive and no victims have come forward. The testimonies and cross-examinations become an attempt by the Judge to un ravel the nature of the mysterious "crime against art." Set as a televis ion courtroom drama and filmed by four camera crews\, the six-chapter se rial presents a condensed 100-minute version of the trial.\n Co-present ed with 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art. CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/acrimeagainstart_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61919395-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T233700 SUMMARY:Three Miles North of Molkom DESCRIPTION:Every summer\, more than a thousand people go looking for the mselves and a soul-load of enlightenment at the No Mind Festival in nort hern Sweden. Deep in the forest\, seekers divide into small\, random "sh aring groups" and submit to a two-week intensive program of pseudo-shama nic-tantric-reiki rituals. We follow the comical-come-karmic adventures of one sharing group made up of a middle-aged mojo-worn lothario\, a Swe dish pop star\, the requisite Hawaiian hippy\, an emotionally fragile F innish grandma and the audience's sounding board\, Nick\, an Australian rugby coach who doesn't buy a second of their "find your inner power ani mal" antics. As the fire-walking and tree-hugging exercises continue\, h owever\, channels are opened into the very real issues that brought the characters there\, including Nick's. In a completely free and honest env ironment\, the camera captures the intimate conversations\, startling br eakdowns and defining confrontations that pave each of their remarkable journeys towards love\, loathing\, hilarity and themselves. \n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/threemilesnorthofmolkom_hotdoc s2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61932299-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T234500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T005500 SUMMARY:Tonite Let's All Make Love in London DESCRIPTION:One of the few filmmakers trusted within the perfumed gardens of the 1960s Brit rock illuminati\, Peter Whitehead was allowed unparal leled access into the centre of the pop circle to capture the moment for his kaleidoscopic film. With contributions from the likes of Mick Jagge r\, Michael Caine\, Julie Christie\, Lee Marvin and David Hockney\, Toni te presents a dazzling and intimate record from the very core of the "in -crowd." With music by Pink Floyd\, among many others. "Not a documentar y in any ordinary sense\," wrote Variety\, "but rather an impressionisti c view of the 'land of mod' as seen by a sympathetic participant." CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/tonightletsallmakeloveinlondon _hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61929211-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T121100 SUMMARY:The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia DESCRIPTION:Kentucky-born photographer Shelby Lee Adams has created a fam ously controversial body of work. Over the past three decades\, he has s hot undeniably beautiful images of shockingly poor dwellers in the Appal achian Mountains. During that time\, Adams has exhibited photographs in galleries and produced books\, which have received great acclaim-and\, f rom some quarters\, moral disdain. The problem is that Adams's shots are perceived as being pure documentary records of rural backwoods culture- but they're not. Adams stages his scenes\, often using theatrical lighti ng. In one purportedly exploitive example\, he brought in a hog so it co uld be slaughtered by a "hillbilly" family and used as a subject for a p hoto. Complicating the issue is the fact that Adams's Appalachians willi ngly consent to work with him. Baichwal's incisive film documents Adams\ , his critics and the families he shoots. "Without passing judgment\, [B aichwal] develops an extraordinary perspective\, both moral and aestheti c\," writes Brian D. Johnson in Maclean's magazine. CATEGORIES:Focus On Jennifer Baichwal LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thetruemeaningofpicturesshelby leeadamsappalachia_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8 AA UID:61808791-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T125300 SUMMARY:Emoticons DESCRIPTION:Acclaimed doc maker Heddy Honigmann (Forever\, 2006) goes onl ine to investigate the virtual social lives of teenagers. For six girls with difficult lives\, the Internet is a safe haven where they can be th emselves without fear of being judged. They submerge themselves in a vir tual world\, a world that is increasingly portrayed by the media as "dan gerous." But their online lives are more important to them than their "r eal" ones where they are often ignored by their peers or\, even worse\, bullied and harassed. Honigmann meets the girls first online and then in their homes\, getting right to the heart of the matter: these girls are lost souls in search of contact\, consolation\, help\, friendship and l ove. Online social networks are not going to disappear and Emoticons doe s not take a stance on whether they should. But it sensitively illustrat es that there are children being alarmingly neglected by traditional soc ial systems.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/emoticons_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61908806-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T141600 SUMMARY:Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home DESCRIPTION:With his first son just born\, filmmaker Andrew Nisker is ver y concerned with the state of our planet. As the average household level of consumption rises\, so does the astronomical amount of waste we coll ectively create. Are we turning the earth into one giant garbage can? De termined to understand the damage we are doing\, Nisker enlists the aver age urban family\, the McDonalds\, to keep every scrap of garbage that t hey produce for three months in their increasingly smelly garage. From o rganic waste to dirty diapers\, from plastic bottles to Christmas wrappi ng\, the McDonald's discover that for every action there is a reaction t hat affects them and the entire planet. At turns hilarious\, provocative \, and alarming\, Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home will change the way you think about the garbage sitting out on your curb and will make you think twice before you eat on paper plates.\n -Alan Black\n\n Co-pr esented with Planet in Focus: International Environmental Film & Video F estival CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/garbagetherevolutionstartsatho me_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61909492-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T131500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T141100 SUMMARY:Searching 4 Sandeep DESCRIPTION:Love in the digital age is complex: immediate\, yet distant\, emotionally close\, yet physically far. When Sydney-sider Poppy Stockel l set out to "research" her light-hearted doc about the online lesbian d ating scene\, she had no idea that it would launch her on a journey that would change her life forever. Frustrated\, lonely and single\, 28-year -old Stockell finds more than just research on the Internet. To her surp rise and delight she forges a deep online connection with an English wom an\, Sandeep Virdi. Poppy sends Sandeep a camera and we watch as their v irtual long-distance crush blossoms into a very real physical relationsh ip. But they face obstacles greater than the vast oceans that separate t hem. Sandeep is Sikh\, lives at home with her conservative family and\, at 31\, is still in the closet about her sexuality. Through raw\, incred ibly frank footage\, Searching 4 Sandeep follows Poppy and Sandeep's tum ultuous relationship across two years and three continents. \n -Sarah Wh itehouse\n\n\n Co-presented with Inside Out Toronto Lesbian & Gay Film and Video Festival CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/searching4sandeep_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61913149-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T134500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T144500 SUMMARY:20 Seconds of Joy DESCRIPTION:"BASE jumping kills people very quick\," says Jeb Corliss\, p rofessional BASE jumper and mentor. "It's one of the few sports in the w orld where you make mistakes\, you get killed." Addictions take many for ms. For 30-year-old Norwegian adrenaline junkie and professional BASE ju mper Karina Hollekim\, her addiction is danger. In Jens Hoffmann's breat htaking documentary\, the filmmaker follows the elusive extreme sport at hlete for five years. Amongst spectacular landscapes in some of the most remote corners of the world\, we follow Karina as she hurls herself off increasingly treacherous cliffs. Is the high worth the price when one w rong move means certain death? For Karina\, the answer is a resounding y es! With the danger comes the ultimate rush\, 20 seconds of blissful joy . An ecstasy unlike any other. An act of faith in defiance of death\, em bracing life to the fullest. The film offers stunning cinematography and a breathtaking joyride. \n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/20secondsofjoy_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61822797-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T141500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T151300 SUMMARY:Paradise DESCRIPTION:After 65 years of marriage Hans and Kerstin still cannot agre e on wallpaper. One day\, behind Kerstin's back\, Hans hangs a hideous p attern of flowers and birds to enhance a feature wall in their summer ho use. This seemingly innocuous décor decision puts their relationship to the test and exposes the secret of their long-lasting union-change. Adap tation to change is a key ingredient to their partnership and its longev ity. Paradise is a powerful and loving portrait of an old married couple -bright\, funny\, touching and provocative. The pair's bickering\, battl es and concessions colour an image of honest affection that reminds us h ow we often mistreat and take for granted those we cherish most. \n -Ang ie Driscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/paradise_hotdocs2008;jsessioni d=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61911912-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T170900 SUMMARY:Shot In Bombay DESCRIPTION:Director Liz Mermin's fast-paced\, multilayered and captivati ng doc about shooting a blockbuster gangster movie in Bombay/Mumbia is p acked with more drama and action than the movie itself. Following a cast of charismatic and often surreal characters\, the doc goes beyond the t inselly glamour of Bollywood to explore some of the industry's darker si des. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to a star-studded cast\ , Shot in Bombay tells three intertwined stories: the rise of the city's underworld in the 1990s\, narrated by a no-nonsense ex-police chief kno wn as "Bombay's Dirty Harry"\; the tribulations of superstar Sanjay Dutt \, on trial for alleged involvement in India's largest terrorist attack\ ; and a young director's dogged quest to master the delicate art of maki ng a Bollywood blockbuster. With three and a half weeks before the movie wraps\, the lead star actor is held up in legal battles. Without the st ar the entire production is a flop. Shot in Bombay is a high-octane adve nture.\n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/shotinbombay_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61914180-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T174500 SUMMARY:The Last Continent DESCRIPTION:For 430 days\, a crew of scientists\, sailors and filmmakers live on a schooner in the Antarctic to study the impact of global warmin g in this gloriously cinematic adventure\, full of awe\, joy and life-th reatening danger. Gale-force winds threaten to dash the crew on the rock s in one of the most nail-biting scenes ever seen in a non-fiction film. Abnormally warm temperatures prevent the formation of the deep pack ice needed to stabilize the schooner and provide a birthing ground for seal s. When desperately needed winter arrives at last\, the camera goes over land to scenes of unbearable beauty and beneath the ice to a magical und ersea world of never-before-photographed species. A marine biologist by training\, Jean Lemire's acclaimed 2006 feature The White Planet focused on the Artic. The massive devastation from climate change he shows at t his\, the other polar extreme\, is a powerful reminder of the fragility of our world. \n -Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thelastcontinent_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61804122-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T173700 SUMMARY:The Old Thieves: The Legends from Artegio DESCRIPTION:Winner of the Guadalajara International Film Festival's award for best Mexican documentary\, Old Thieves is an often humorous look at a generation of charming professional thieves who reached the peak of t heir criminal career in 1960s Mexico. The four notorious bandits intervi ewed were legends in their time\, belonging to a subculture of petty cro oks who adhered to a strict code of ethics-they never killed or harmed a nyone they stole from. Many of the thieves became celebrities\; handsome and well-dressed\, their exploits were the stuff of Hollywood crime cap ers. The most famous of the bunch\, El Carrizo\, proudly recalls the tim e he unknowingly robbed the home of the president of Mexico\, and the de al he struck with his nemesis\, a police inspector who had been tracking him for years\, in exchange for his freedom. Intimate interviews and ar chival footage vividly recall a time when the line between criminal and legal was disturbingly blurred.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:Made In Mexico LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theoldthievesthelegendsfromart egio_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61918513-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T161500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T171800 SUMMARY:Cuban Song DESCRIPTION:Every image tells a story in this sensitively crafted mosaic that captures the soul of everyday life in Havana. An irresistible sound track drives and narrates the camera's sensitive observations of the mun dane and the unexpected with lyrics of love\, longing and betrayal. A wo man prepares a meal in her tiny kitchen\, construction workers toil as p eople sing on the street\, Fidel Castro appears on television playing th e paternal role and majestic waves crash into a pier as the song cycle b uilds to a crescendo that always leads back to Cuba. This timely glimpse into the lives of ordinary Cubans under Castro was the last film made b y director and DP\, Fernand Bélanger. Knowing his time was limited\, his camera is pulled to moments representing the essential pulse of life. S adly\, Belanger died before the film was finished\, so the film was comp leted by his co-directors and longtime collaborators\, Louise Dugal and Yves Angrignon. \n -Gisèle Gordon \n\n Co-presented with the Images Fes tival. CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/cubasong_hotdocs2008;jsessioni d=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61800613-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T171700 SUMMARY:Daddy Tran: A Life in 3-D DESCRIPTION:Six years ago\, 65-year-old photographer Hai Tran fell in lov e with 3-D photography and is on a mission to share its wonders with as many people as possible. His passion for photography began as a child in Vietnam\, continued when he fled with his young family in a small boat with three cameras and a suitcase of photographs\, and culminated in Cal gary where he eventually opened one of Canada's largest vintage camera s tores. Director Siu Ta reveals the history of the family through Hai's w onderful photos as well as intimate and funny stories from his wife and children. Ta captures Hai's ebullience when a moose poses for his camera \, his joy as he shows his work to strangers and his sadness as he is fo rced to close the store. Hai's charisma\, volatile personality and love for photography light up this film. In English and Vietnamese with Engli sh subtitles.\n - Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/daddytranalifein3d_hotdocs2008 ;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61803089-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T180000 SUMMARY:Nursery University DESCRIPTION:And you thought getting into college was hard! In post-9/11 N ew York City\, a baby boom has turned the preschool admissions process i nto a blood sport. With more than 20 applicants for every available spot \, $4\,000 consultants are hired and teams are recruited just to acquire application forms. Cue the tears\, hysterics and breakdowns - and that' s just the parents! Meet this year's contestants: from the well-heeled Manhattan corner\, Tony and Cynthia\, and Heidi and Roddy are used to ge tting what they want\, while Harlem-based Kris and Kim\, and Greenwich's Wyatt and Sneha have to be more realistic. Meanwhile\, single mom Aleta has double the problem with her twins. What starts as a race to get the ir children into the right Ivy League "feeder" schools turns into a real ity check when unexpected hiccups arrive with the response envelopes. En joy the insanity in this sweeter look at the social issues and the littl e darlings at the centre of all the fuss. -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/nurseryuniversity_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61911787-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T175800 SUMMARY:A Musical Adventure in Siberia DESCRIPTION:This latest film pursues typical Leacock passions: music and musicians. The late Sarah Caldwell\, talented opera conductor and impres ario\, was\, in 1972\, the first woman to conduct the Metropolitan Opera . Prior to that\, she formed her own opera company in Boston and became known for putting together difficult works under pressure and for her in teresting variations on standard operas. A few years before her death\, Leacock and Valérie Lalonde join Caldwell on a trip to Siberia in the mi ddle of winter where she attempts to stage a previously-banned 1936 symp honic drama by celebrated Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. The piece i s based on poet Aleksandr Pushkin's famous novel Eugene Onegin. Working with Russian musicians\, actors\, director and crew proves challenging f or Caldwell\, who wants desperately to present the work as Prokofiev had intended. The film captures a clash of cultures as tensions mount and t empers flare. Caldwell's dedication to the music is clear and constant\, making Siberia a gripping study of the artistic process. \n -Shannon Ab el CATEGORIES:Outstanding Achievement: Richard Leacock LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/amusicaladventureinsiberia_hot docs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61930688-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T195600 SUMMARY:Football Undercover DESCRIPTION:She shoots\, she scores! An exhilarating and historic match b etween an Iranian and a German women's football team is played out in Te hran in 2006. Giving girl power its due\, Football Undercover follows th e sporty girls as they struggle against what seems like endless bureaucr atic oppression to make the game happen. Marlene\, the lead on the Berli n-Kreuzberg team\, visits officials in Germany and Tehran to lobby for i t. Niloofar\, the main player on the Iranian side\, dresses as a boy to practice in a nearby park. Narmila is living out the dream of her mother \, who gave up football when she married. Susu\, a German Muslim\, wants to learn what it's like to wear a headscarf while playing. A testimony to women's determination and strength\, Football Undercover is an inspir ing story of cross-cultural politics colliding with a group of sports-lo ving women who just want to kick some balls and make a few new friends. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/footballundercover_hotdocs2008 ;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61793000-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T184500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T202900 SUMMARY:The Truth Be Told: The Cases Against Supinya Klangnarong DESCRIPTION:In October 2005\, Thailand telecommunications giant Shin Corp oration\, owned by the family of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shin awatra\, brings an $11-million defamation lawsuit against Supinya Klangn arong\, a prominent Thai journalist\, university lecturer and media righ ts activist. She had accused the corporation of colluding with the gover nment. During the tumultuous months of her trial\, director Pimpaka Towi ra\, a leading figure of Thailand's independent film scene\, accompanies the level-headed Klangnarong\, capturing a portrait of idealism and int egrity. The result is a beguiling mix of cinema vérité\, personal profil e\, political exposé and national diary. Proving that freedom of speech and public activism can effect change\, The Truth Be Told seamlessly com bines a fluid experimental style with an engaging narrative structure th at comments on the legal\, political and constitutional turmoil in conte mporary Thai society.\n\n Co-presented with Toronto Reel Asian Internat ional Film Festival CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thetruthbetoldthecasesagainsts upinyaklangnarong_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8A A UID:61917188-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T203500 SUMMARY:Betrayal (Nerakhoon) DESCRIPTION:During the U.S. military's covert operations in Laos in the e arly 1970s\, Thavisouk Phrasavath's father was recruited to help the CIA . But when the Americans withdrew and the communist regime gained power\ , Phrasavath's father and thousands of others were declared enemies of t he state and imprisoned. At the age of 12\, Phrasavath made a harrowing escape from Laos to Thailand and eventually to New York City\, where the hardships of an immigrant's life forced him\, his eight siblings and hi s resilient mother to face an entirely different kind of war. The direct orial debut of acclaimed cinematographer Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine o f the Spotless Mind\, Neil Young: Heart of Gold)\, Betrayal is a lyrical film that fluidly incorporates archival footage\, cinema vérité\, revea ling personal interviews and visually poetic montages. Beautifully filme d over the course of 23 years\, it offers a stirring portrait of life in exile\, of the far-reaching consequences of war and the unbreakable bon ds of family. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/betrayalnerakhoon_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61792013-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T201200 SUMMARY:Talking Guitars DESCRIPTION:Talking Guitars is an engrossing portrait of master guitar cr aftsman\, Flip Scipio\, an unassuming Dutchman with an obsession. Based in New York\, Flip is revered in the music industry. His clients include Jackson Browne\, David Lindley\, Ben Taylor\, Paul Simon\, David Tronzo \, Leni Stern and Carly Simon. The film expertly juxtaposes Flip\, quiet ly building and restoring guitars\, with the charismatic musicians who s eek his expertise. It has been said that Flip can "make the worst piece of shit sing\," so he's often called in to rescue a damaged guitar while an artist is on tour. The film is a musical journey that follows Flip f rom his quiet\, sunny workshop to captivating face-to-face sessions with his famous clients. Watching him at work is as interesting as hearing t he musicians play. The film draws you into his world\, and makes you wan t to hear what he hears.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:Featured, World Showcase LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/talkingguitars_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61917054-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T202000 SUMMARY:Beautiful Losers DESCRIPTION:"The real magic lies not only in the fact that we were acknow ledged\, but that really\, none of us were ever supposed to get there\," says filmmaker Aaron Rose. Beautiful Losers celebrates the independent do-it-yourself spirit that unified a like-minded group of American artis ts who emerged from the underground youth subcultures of skateboarding\, graffiti\, punk rock and hip-hop in the early 1990s. It tells the story of how a group of graffiti artists\, with little or no formal training and almost no connection to the inner workings of the art world\, ended up having an huge impact on the worlds of art\, fashion\, music\, film a nd pop culture. These artists and the subcultures from which they sprang have become not only popular\, but have sparked the most influential cu ltural movement of our generation. Through a series of informal vignette s featuring 10 artists\, Beautiful Losers explores the creative impetus behind this growing movement. Rose and Joshua Leonard's captivating film offers an intimate glimpse into a fascinating and significant time in t he history of art making. \n -Sarah Whitehouse\n Co-presented with the Toronto Free Gallery. CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/beautifullosers_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61918678-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T203300 SUMMARY:The Glow of White Women DESCRIPTION:Filmmaker Yunus Vally was convinced that the promised virgins of paradise would all be white. Born and raised in Nelspruit\, a deeply racist town in provincial South Africa\, Vally grew up in a Muslim fami ly\, attended Mosque five times daily and dreamed of paradise. But as a young man\, Vally decided he wanted to find out if the promised virgins were worth the wait. This creatively composed and humorous film looks at white women in the dark continent and explores the forbidden sexual des ires of blacks and whites under apartheid. Probing and provocative\, The Glow of White Women explores one man's desire and taboo.\n -Sarah White house CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theglowofwhitewomen_hotdocs200 8;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61811218-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T200800 SUMMARY:Emoticons DESCRIPTION:Acclaimed doc maker Heddy Honigmann (Forever\, 2006) goes onl ine to investigate the virtual social lives of teenagers. For six girls with difficult lives\, the Internet is a safe haven where they can be th emselves without fear of being judged. They submerge themselves in a vir tual world\, a world that is increasingly portrayed by the media as "dan gerous." But their online lives are more important to them than their "r eal" ones where they are often ignored by their peers or\, even worse\, bullied and harassed. Honigmann meets the girls first online and then in their homes\, getting right to the heart of the matter: these girls are lost souls in search of contact\, consolation\, help\, friendship and l ove. Online social networks are not going to disappear and Emoticons doe s not take a stance on whether they should. But it sensitively illustrat es that there are children being alarmingly neglected by traditional soc ial systems.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/emoticons_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:90193294-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T224000 SUMMARY:All Together Now DESCRIPTION:Music is the star in this dizzying documentary about Montréal -based Cirque du Soleil's new Beatles-inspired Las Vegas show\, Love. Af ter three years of negotiations and with a budget of $180 million\, dire ctor Dominic Champagne has to wrangle an international cast and crew of 500\, and an approvals process that includes the founders of Cirque\, th e Beatles holding company\, Apple Corps Ltd.\, Paul McCartney\, Ringo St arr\, George Harrison's widow Olivia\, and Yoko Ono-one wonders how he d idn't have a nervous breakdown. It's all eventually smoothed over by the magic of the Beatles' brilliant music\, masterfully re-imagined by musi c director and ex-Beatles' producer\, the ever-charming Sir George Marti n. A peek at a fascinating and nerve-racking creative process as seen on every imaginable level\, with fabulous archival footage and spectacular performances-this is one behind-the-scenes story you won't want to miss . \n -Gisèle Gordon CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/alltogethernow_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61512609-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T225500 SUMMARY:Hold Me Tight\, Let Me Go DESCRIPTION:Acclaimed doc-maker Kim Longinotto (Sisters in Law\, The Day I Will Never Forget) brings us another incredible film about struggling children living in extraordinary circumstances. Mulberry Bush in Oxford\ , U.K.\, is a unique boarding school that caters to children who have be en expelled from regular schools for extreme behaviour. The three-year p rogramme gives them the chance to turn their lives around and re-enter t he regular school system. Longinotto spends a year at the school followi ng the progress of four charming but troubled boys. All have severe prob lems with anger and violence\; they punch\, kick\, spit and curse at the remarkably patient teachers who are trained never to raise their voices and who encourage the students to express their emotions. The film comp assionately captures the battle these children go through to give voice to the hurt they carry inside. It is a sensitive and heart-wrenching stu dy of the results of family dysfunction and also stands witness to the e ffects-bad and good-adults have on growing children.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/holdmetightletmego_hotdocs2008 ;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61794407-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T220000 SUMMARY:Pilgrimage From Scattered Points DESCRIPTION:Where is the border between music\, sound and noise? What can the answer tell us about the political situation under capitalism? Thes e are questions that the British Scratch Orchestra tried to answer in th e 1960s with the motto "everyone can play everything." Amateurs and prof essionals alike\, including Michael Nyman and Brian Eno\, express themse lves against any form of aural logic. Filmmaker Luke Fowler depicts the Scratch Orchestra's composer Cornelius Cardew in action\, resonating in a brilliant\, impressionistic visual landscape. Sound and image unite to form a hypnotic and freely associating current\, which reaches far into the subjective sphere of experimental film. CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/pilgrimagefromscatteredpoints_ hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61926582-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T223500 SUMMARY:Head Wind DESCRIPTION:Although possessing a satellite dish is illegal in Iran\, as this observant\, wryly ironic film reveals\, cheesy Western television s hows somehow find their way into Iranian homes. CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/headwind_hotdocs2008;jsessioni d=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61811795-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T225700 SUMMARY:Beyond Our Ken DESCRIPTION:In this riveting and disturbing doc\, filmmakers Luke Walker and Melissa Mclean obtain unprecedented access to a controversial Austra lian "spiritual enlightenment" organization called Kenja. Founded in 198 2 by leader Ken Dyers and wife Jan Hamilton\, Kenja members and supporte rs claim that the group offers a Utopia where life's purpose is defined\ , the human spirit discovered and the universe itself explained. Meanwhi le\, during its 25-year lifetime\, Kenja has been derided in the media a s a "secretive cult\," and Ken described as a "seedy conman." Families b lame the group for the disappearance of loved ones. As the people of Ken ja prepare to defend themselves in the latest of several court cases\, K en and Jan invite the filmmakers into their spiritual enlightenment cent re. Through remarkable vérité footage and candid interviews\, Beyond Our Ken explores the anatomy and ambiguity of the cult enigma. We discover the extent to which environment defines our reality\, a reality as fragi le as the truth.\n -Shannon Abel\n Co-presented with OzFlix. CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/beyondourken_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61931622-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T230000 SUMMARY:Carny DESCRIPTION:An intimate\, gritty and poetic adventure following the lives of carnies\, travelling fairground workers who have abandoned the secur ity of the "real world" for the refuge and variety of the road. Deep pai n is masked behind the huge grin of Hairy\, the charismatic lesbian cott on-candy seller. Through her eyes\, we see a world of unlikely Romeos\, easy love and fierce friendships that obscure personal hardship and trou bled pasts. Often from an underclass that has few options\, the carnies struggle with addiction\, loneliness\, poverty and shattered dreams\, fi nding solace only in the company of their own\, who accept them as they are. Some have worked the fairs for more than 50 years\, some were born or escaped into it\, but all are gripped by the romance of the bright mi dway lights lyrically captured in lush interludes of Kodachrome Super 8. \n -Gisèle Gordon \n\n Co-presented with Women in Film and Television - Toronto. CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/carny_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E 18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61512798-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T230500 SUMMARY:Recycle DESCRIPTION:This keenly observant and beautifully shot film enjoyed criti cal and audience acclaim at the recent Dubai and Sundance film festivals . It tells the story of Abu Amar\, an ex-Mujahideen soldier\, trying to build a peaceful life after years of fighting in the Soviet-Afghan war. His personal struggle between faith and the difficult political and soci al realities of life in the Middle East finds Amar\, father of eight\, f orced to collect and recycle cardboard in the streets of Zarqa\, Jordan. Zarqa\, a hotbed for political Islamists\, is also the childhood home o f the film’s director and the birthplace of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi\, the l ate and infamous al-Qaeda leader in Iraq. The director rides shotgun wit h Amar and his young son as they drive the streets of Zarqa\, the same s treets and extreme living conditions which led many other young men to c hoose the violent life of political extremism.\n -Chris McDonald CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/recycle_hotdocs2008;jsessionid =E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61815265-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080419T235500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T012500 SUMMARY:Monterey Pop DESCRIPTION:This vanguard concert film is an explosive portrayal of the 1 967 Monterey International Pop Festival at the height of the Summer of L ove. Monterey launched the careers of Jimi Hendrix\, Janis Joplin and Ot is Redding and ushered in a new era of rock 'n' roll. Other performances by artists like Simon and Garfunkel\, The Mamas and the Papas\, The Who and the extraordinary Ravi Shankar are vividly captured by both Ricky L eacock and Al Maysles\, who were camera operators. Monterey was part of a cultural revolution\, and Pennebaker wanted to use similar cinematic t echniques to capture that reality. Driven by direct cinema sensibility a nd influenced by the French New Wave\, Pennebaker approached the film wi th the same adventurous spirit as the concert organizers and the artists themselves. Thus\, the film immortalizes moments like Pete Townshend de stroying his guitar and Hendrix burning his. Monterey Pop lives up to it s legendary status\, making it as timeless as it is powerful. \n -Shanno n Abel CATEGORIES:Outstanding Achievement: Richard Leacock LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/montereypop_hotdocs2008;jsessi onid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61930055-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T113000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T125700 SUMMARY:Manufactured Landscapes DESCRIPTION:This Genie and Toronto International Film Festival award winn er explores the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky\, who shoots gorge ous pictures of industrial wastelands and exploited workers. Refusing to be overtly political\, Burtynsky relentlessly pursues a working methodo logy that allows him access to restricted\, often devastated areas: quar ries\, factories\, dumping grounds and mines. By making his photographs huge and beautiful\, he mollifies authorities that can limit where he sh oots while confronting rich art aficionados with the decayed fruit of so ciety's labours. Baichwal and cinematographer Peter Mettler accompanied Burtynsky on a trip to the Three Gorges Dam\, which is forcing the reloc ation of millions of Chinese from their ancestral homes\, and Shanghai\, where urban renewal is ripping apart the fabric that bound a city toget her for generations. Thoughtful and provocative\, Baichwal's film captur es the complexity of Burtynsky's artistic practice. Manufactured Landsca pes is "an extraordinarily haunting\, beautiful\, insightful and thought -provoking film\," says Al Gore. CATEGORIES:Focus On Jennifer Baichwal LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/manufacturedlandscapes_hotdocs 2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61808623-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T125200 SUMMARY:Shock Waves DESCRIPTION:Despite the signed peace accords of 2003\, millions continue to die in the troubled Democratic Republic of Congo\, home to some of th e worst human rights violations in the world. But there is a ray of hope . Radio\, once a means for spreading propaganda and hatred\, is now bein g used as a tool for justice and truth. For six years internationally fu nded independent Radio Okapi has been broadcasting from the frontlines a nd giving the Congolese people a voice. Under the constant threat of vio lence and death for their critiques of those in power\, more than 100 jo urnalists from Radio Okapi expose injustice and corruption wherever they find it. Its existence has become a lifeline for the people\, offering hope of a future with unity and peace. In the words of senior reporter J ules Ngala\, "When people tell us these stories\, we are revolted\, but our only weapon is the microphone. It makes us fight harder." -Gisèle G ordon \n\n Co-presented with ReelWorld Film Festival. CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/shockwaves_hotdocs2008;jsessio nid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61806048-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T124500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T143000 SUMMARY:The Last Continent DESCRIPTION:For 430 days\, a crew of scientists\, sailors and filmmakers live on a schooner in the Antarctic to study the impact of global warmin g in this gloriously cinematic adventure\, full of awe\, joy and life-th reatening danger. Gale-force winds threaten to dash the crew on the rock s in one of the most nail-biting scenes ever seen in a non-fiction film. Abnormally warm temperatures prevent the formation of the deep pack ice needed to stabilize the schooner and provide a birthing ground for seal s. When desperately needed winter arrives at last\, the camera goes over land to scenes of unbearable beauty and beneath the ice to a magical und ersea world of never-before-photographed species. A marine biologist by training\, Jean Lemire's acclaimed 2006 feature The White Planet focused on the Artic. The massive devastation from climate change he shows at t his\, the other polar extreme\, is a powerful reminder of the fragility of our world. \n -Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thelastcontinent_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61804164-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T143000 SUMMARY:Hot Docs Talks: The Long Haul DESCRIPTION:The “longitudinal” documentary - films which follow their sub jects and stories over years - is an increasingly rare form. In this dis cussion\, guest filmmakers who have made such works discuss what it take s to stay with the story and to tell it in ninety minutes. CATEGORIES:Hot Docs Talks LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/hotdocstalkslonghaul_hotdocs20 08;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61936731-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T131500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T145500 SUMMARY:A Crime Against Art DESCRIPTION:C-SPAN meets the art scene in A Crime Against Art. This film is based on a "trial" staged at an art fair in Madrid in February 2007. In turn\, both trials were inspired by the mock trials organized by Andr é Breton in the 1920s and '30s. All raise a number of polemical issues i n the world of contemporary art: collusion with the "new bourgeoisie\," instrumentalization of art and its institutions\, the future possibility of artistic agency and other pertinent topics. Filmmaker Hila Peleg's t rial begins with the assumption that a crime has been committed\, yet it s nature and evidence are allusive and no victims have come forward. The testimonies and cross-examinations become an attempt by the Judge to un ravel the nature of the mysterious "crime against art." Set as a televis ion courtroom drama and filmed by four camera crews\, the six-chapter se rial presents a condensed 100-minute version of the trial.\n Co-present ed with 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art. CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/acrimeagainstart_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61919405-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T145000 SUMMARY:Recycle DESCRIPTION:This keenly observant and beautifully shot film enjoyed criti cal and audience acclaim at the recent Dubai and Sundance film festivals . It tells the story of Abu Amar\, an ex-Mujahideen soldier\, trying to build a peaceful life after years of fighting in the Soviet-Afghan war. His personal struggle between faith and the difficult political and soci al realities of life in the Middle East finds Amar\, father of eight\, f orced to collect and recycle cardboard in the streets of Zarqa\, Jordan. Zarqa\, a hotbed for political Islamists\, is also the childhood home o f the film’s director and the birthplace of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi\, the l ate and infamous al-Qaeda leader in Iraq. The director rides shotgun wit h Amar and his young son as they drive the streets of Zarqa\, the same s treets and extreme living conditions which led many other young men to c hoose the violent life of political extremism.\n -Chris McDonald CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/recycle_hotdocs2008;jsessionid =E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61815327-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T151200 SUMMARY:Talking Guitars DESCRIPTION:Talking Guitars is an engrossing portrait of master guitar cr aftsman\, Flip Scipio\, an unassuming Dutchman with an obsession. Based in New York\, Flip is revered in the music industry. His clients include Jackson Browne\, David Lindley\, Ben Taylor\, Paul Simon\, David Tronzo \, Leni Stern and Carly Simon. The film expertly juxtaposes Flip\, quiet ly building and restoring guitars\, with the charismatic musicians who s eek his expertise. It has been said that Flip can "make the worst piece of shit sing\," so he's often called in to rescue a damaged guitar while an artist is on tour. The film is a musical journey that follows Flip f rom his quiet\, sunny workshop to captivating face-to-face sessions with his famous clients. Watching him at work is as interesting as hearing t he musicians play. The film draws you into his world\, and makes you wan t to hear what he hears.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:Featured, World Showcase LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/talkingguitars_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61917101-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T141500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T153300 SUMMARY:Club Native DESCRIPTION:Falling in love with the wrong person can have devastating re percussions for Mohawks on the Kahnawake reserve in Quebec. Award-winnin g director Tracey Deer takes a courageous look at her home community\, r aising questions of identity\, history and tradition through the lives o f four inspiring Mohawk women. With warmth\, depth and humour\, stories unfold about the heartbreaking costs of "marrying out" of their Mohawk N ation\, the challenges faced by kids of mixed backgrounds\, and the conf lict between love and preserving the fabric of their community. Having c hildren with the men they love can mean forfeiting their offspring's leg al native status\, including the right to live with their families on th e reserve. The film doesn't flinch from the history of Canada's racist a nd sexist government policy\, including the brutal force used against th em during the Oka Crisis in 1990. A groundbreaking film and a powerful s tory of the triumph of love and the human spirit. -Lynne Fernie\n\n Co -presented with imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum, Featured LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/clubnative_hotdocs2008;jsessio nid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61798649-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T154500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T171000 SUMMARY:All Together Now DESCRIPTION:Music is the star in this dizzying documentary about Montréal -based Cirque du Soleil's new Beatles-inspired Las Vegas show\, Love. Af ter three years of negotiations and with a budget of $180 million\, dire ctor Dominic Champagne has to wrangle an international cast and crew of 500\, and an approvals process that includes the founders of Cirque\, th e Beatles holding company\, Apple Corps Ltd.\, Paul McCartney\, Ringo St arr\, George Harrison's widow Olivia\, and Yoko Ono-one wonders how he d idn't have a nervous breakdown. It's all eventually smoothed over by the magic of the Beatles' brilliant music\, masterfully re-imagined by musi c director and ex-Beatles' producer\, the ever-charming Sir George Marti n. A peek at a fascinating and nerve-racking creative process as seen on every imaginable level\, with fabulous archival footage and spectacular performances-this is one behind-the-scenes story you won't want to miss . \n -Gisèle Gordon CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/alltogethernow_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61512698-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T171900 SUMMARY:Life. Support. Music. DESCRIPTION:From Independent Spirit Award-nominated director Eric Daniel Metzgar (The Chances of the World Changing\, 2006) comes a beautiful and inspiring story about recovery\, family and music. Jason Crigler\, a br illiant guitarist living and working in New York City\, suffers a debili tating brain hemorrhage during a 2004 concert in Manhattan. The doctor's prognosis is dire\; it is doubtful he will ever walk\, play guitar or b e able to live outside of a facility again. His pregnant wife and family refuse to accept this future for Jason. Instead\, they decide to take h is recovery into their own hands and reactivate his brain with daily sti mulation and countless acts of love. Will Jason be able to make this epi c journey and return to his old life? Told with remarkable humanism and sensitivity\, Life. Support. Music. is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and to the power of relationships.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/lifesupportmusic_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61812722-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T175200 SUMMARY:Three Miles North of Molkom DESCRIPTION:Every summer\, more than a thousand people go looking for the mselves and a soul-load of enlightenment at the No Mind Festival in nort hern Sweden. Deep in the forest\, seekers divide into small\, random "sh aring groups" and submit to a two-week intensive program of pseudo-shama nic-tantric-reiki rituals. We follow the comical-come-karmic adventures of one sharing group made up of a middle-aged mojo-worn lothario\, a Swe dish pop star\, the requisite Hawaiian hippy\, an emotionally fragile F innish grandma and the audience's sounding board\, Nick\, an Australian rugby coach who doesn't buy a second of their "find your inner power ani mal" antics. As the fire-walking and tree-hugging exercises continue\, h owever\, channels are opened into the very real issues that brought the characters there\, including Nick's. In a completely free and honest env ironment\, the camera captures the intimate conversations\, startling br eakdowns and defining confrontations that pave each of their remarkable journeys towards love\, loathing\, hilarity and themselves. \n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/threemilesnorthofmolkom_hotdoc s2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61932353-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T161500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T174000 SUMMARY:Her Name is Sabine DESCRIPTION:French actress Sandrine Bonnaire uses intimate home-movie foo tage to create a loving portrait of Sabine\, her 38-year-old autistic si ster\, and to trace her behavioural decline. Personal footage filmed by the actress over a 25-year period shows the marked change and harm that institutional living has had on Sabine's personality and temperament. On ce high-functioning and happy\, Sabine is now lethargic and lonely with diminished capabilities. Is this the result of institutional psychiatric care or disease progression? Bonnaire visits her sister\, now living in a home in the Charente region of France\, and looks back on Sabine's hi story of mental illness. Her Name Is Sabine is an emotional questioning of psychiatric diagnosis\, the agonizing decisions involved in adult lon g-term care and the lack of specialized institutions and support. The fi lm is an urgent plea to acknowledge\, value\, support and involve differ ently-abled individuals in society. \n -Angie Driscoll\n\n Co-presented with Alliance Française de Toronto. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/hernameissabine_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61794151-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T175000 SUMMARY:Victoire Terminus DESCRIPTION:It is summer 2006 in Kinshasa\, Congo\, and Martini\, Jeannet te\, Helene and Rosette-four dedicated and outspoken female boxers from the city's ghetto-spar everyday in Tata Rafael stadium\, the same stadiu m where in 1974 Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman. Their coach\, f ormer boxer Judex\, is struggling to organize a tournament with no money to pay his fighters. But the women box for reasons other than financial gain. For some\, it is to defend themselves against abusive partners in a culture of misogyny. For all\, boxing is about empowerment. Meanwhile \, the fight for the presidency of Congo rages as thousands flock to the stadium for political rallies. The women use the ring to take out their frustrations regarding corrupt presidential candidates. Victoire Termin us is a gripping portrait of a contemporary Congo where hope is still al ive for the Kinshasa women who box.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/victoireterminus_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61818985-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T180700 SUMMARY:Steypa DESCRIPTION:Cerebral and substantial in its focus\, yet eclectic and funk y in tone\, Steypa explores the relationship between inspiration\, creat ivity\, culture and environment through a collaboration of seven of Icel and's most acclaimed young artists. Gabriela kneads dough and wears it a s a mask\; Ásmundur pours Coca-Cola into empty Fanta bottles\; Kartin bu ilds a small model of a house only to throw it off of a bigger one\; the Icelandic Love Corporation recreates Van Gogh's The Starry Night in lic orice. Mixing elements of realism and performance\, the film frames the phenomenon of contemporary Icelandic art within the international scene through interviews with some of the art world's leading curators and cri tics. The Icelandic word for concrete (Ásmundur's sculpting material of choice) as well as a colloquial Icelandic term for "something weird\," S teypa offers a playful and intelligent discussion of the scene.\n Co-p resented with the Toronto Free Gallery. CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/steypa_hotdocs2008;jsessionid= E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61928960-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T200000 SUMMARY:Tiger Spirit DESCRIPTION:Millions of Korean families were separated from one another i n the 1950s when war broke out between the Soviet-occupied North and the American-controlled South. For more than a generation\, families have n ot been able to visit\, speak on the phone or even write each other. Tra gically\, the last survivors to remember a unified Korea are dying witho ut ever having seen their grandchildren. Filmmaker Min Sook Lee examines the political reality with a journalist's eye and keen personal insight . To better understand the country she left as a child\, Lee examines th e consequences of history through the extraordinary experiences of ordin ary Koreans. At a war memorial site\, she meets a woman who has the fate of earning her livelihood by daily transforming her harrowing escape fr om North Korea into a story for tourists. Lee meets with elderly Koreans who yearn to see their loved ones just once before they die. One lucky family\, the Kims\, are winners in a surreal mass state-sanctioned famil y reunion in a facility in the North. Their meeting profoundly illuminat es the cost of 50 years of separation and the challenges ahead for those who dream of reunification. \n -Gisèle Gordon CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum, Featured LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/tigerspirit_hotdocs2008;jsessi onid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61807047-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T184500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T201500 SUMMARY:Nursery University DESCRIPTION:And you thought getting into college was hard! In post-9/11 N ew York City\, a baby boom has turned the preschool admissions process i nto a blood sport. With more than 20 applicants for every available spot \, $4\,000 consultants are hired and teams are recruited just to acquire application forms. Cue the tears\, hysterics and breakdowns - and that' s just the parents! Meet this year's contestants: from the well-heeled Manhattan corner\, Tony and Cynthia\, and Heidi and Roddy are used to ge tting what they want\, while Harlem-based Kris and Kim\, and Greenwich's Wyatt and Sneha have to be more realistic. Meanwhile\, single mom Aleta has double the problem with her twins. What starts as a race to get the ir children into the right Ivy League "feeder" schools turns into a real ity check when unexpected hiccups arrive with the response envelopes. En joy the insanity in this sweeter look at the social issues and the littl e darlings at the centre of all the fuss. -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/nurseryuniversity_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61911795-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T203700 SUMMARY:Junior DESCRIPTION:There's no margin for error\, getting drunk or breaking curfe w in the high-stakes game stickhandled by the coaches\, agents\, trainer s\, owners and shareholders of junior hockey. Direct cinema and dramatic editing capture the joys and the anguish of young Baie-Comeau players t hroughout an entire season. The team isn't doing well and the pressure t o win is intense. As players autograph their pictures for teenage girls after a game\, managers and owners meet behind closed doors to decide th eir fate. In one brutal scene\, a player is "fired" minutes before the t eam photo shoot. In another\, a player is told he's been traded and has 30 minutes to catch a bus to a different city to play that night-or his hockey career is over. Junior has no actual hockey scenes\, but superb f ilmmaking and the boys' rough and tumble passage to manhood take this fi lm beyond a typical sports documentary. In French and English with Engli sh subtitles. \n -Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/junior_hotdocs2008;jsessionid= E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61803911-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T201400 SUMMARY:Must Read After My Death DESCRIPTION:When an unconventional 1960s Connecticut couple turn to psych iatry for help with their troubled marriage\, their lives spiral out of control. Allis and Charley submit themselves and their four children to a daily barrage of group and individual therapies. But things get worse. Pills are prescribed\, family members are sent away. The family\, as in structed by their doctors\, record their discussions and fights. Smart\, free-thinking Allis begins to question the therapy. Her heart-wrenching audio diaries tell a story of oppression\, abuse and institutionalized misogyny. Remarkably\, all of these recordings were preserved\, hidden a way for Allis's children to discover after her death. The film uses this intimate material combined with home movies and an unusual soundtrack t o viscerally reconstruct the family's struggle and to comment on the mor es of American culture in the '60s. The result is brilliant\, a searing indictment of the nuclear family and a moving tribute to a woman who fou ght convention.\n -Shannon Abel\n\n Co-presented with Rendezvous with M adness Film Festival CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/mustreadaftermydeath_hotdocs20 08;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61814795-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T202400 SUMMARY:The Rise and Fall of the Grumpy Burger DESCRIPTION:Filmmaker Marshall Sfalcin is Canada's answer to Ed Wood and Russ Meyer. His no-budget monster movies are works of fantasy\, favourin g big scares and bigger boobs to truth and authenticity. With his latest film\, Sfalcin is determined to tell the "serious" story about his fami ly history and their bold claim that they\, and not McDonald's\, are the rightful inventors of fast food. Along to capture the making of Sfalcin 's masterpiece is fellow filmmaker and childhood buddy Matt Gallagher. A s Sfalcin's vision of his film changes due to a barrage of obstacles\, G allagher's documentary morphs from straightforward "making-of" film into a complex mediation on truth and fiction\, where the lines are always b lurred. The Rise and Fall of Grumpy Burger is that rare treat of a film that entertains and captivates with its outrageous story and brash chara cters while\, at the very same time\, asking the audience to question ev erything they are seeing. \n -Alan Black CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theriseandfallofthegrumpyburge r_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61912382-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T204200 SUMMARY:Song Sung Blue DESCRIPTION:In many ways\, the lives and careers of Mike and Claire Sardi na epitomize a certain variation of the rock 'n' roll experience. They f ollow their dream\, work as hard as they can to get that one big break\, that one taste of fame\, only to see it all come undone by turmoil befi tting a Greek tragedy. Or a Neil Diamond song. The Sardinas build a cult following in Milwaukee and Chicago as the Neil Diamond tribute band Lig htning and Thunder. Fame comes first in the form of an invitation from E ddie Vedder to perform with Pearl Jam in 1995. Then a freak accident cha nges Claire's life forever\, sending the singing duo into a tailspin of dire financial difficulty\, family dysfunction and artistic irrelevancy. Authentic dreamers to the core\, Mike and Claire persevere. Their story is one of hope\, faith and unwavering optimism. CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/songsungblue_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61914365-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T204900 SUMMARY:Shadow of the Holy Book DESCRIPTION:Why are some of the world's biggest international companies t ranslating the Ruhnama\, an absurd government propaganda book from Turkm enistan\, into their own languages? In this provocative film\, Finnish d irector Arto Halonen and journalist Kevin Frazier set out to uncover how prominent international companies could willingly turn a blind eye to b latant human rights violations in the name of corporate greed. The docum entary follows the filmmakers from Central Asia to Europe and the U.S. a s they track down the companies that give their clandestine support to t he Ruhnama (The Book of Soul)\, a propaganda tool written by Turkmenista n's dictatorship to maintain social and political control. The Ruhnama h as become an infamous symbol of the shame of Western companies that igno re corruption in order to secure multimillion-dollar deals. Shadow of th e Holy Book offers a probing investigation into the immorality of corrup t international business. \n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/shadowoftheholybook_hotdocs200 8;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61932183-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T222900 SUMMARY:Corridor #8 DESCRIPTION:Take a trip on a connecting road that doesn't exist between t hree mistrustful countries that may not even want to be linked. Filmmake r Boris Despodov embarks on just such a haphazard journey as he attempts to travel along Corridor #8\, the massive infrastructural project joini ng Bulgaria\, Macedonia and Albania. Commissioned by the EU in 1997\, th e complex rail and road system is designed to connect the Black and Adri atic seas and lift the economic hopes of the farmers and blue-collar wor kers along its way. But after millions of euros and 10 years\, little pr ogress has been made. An unfinished Bulgarian railway tunnel is used for growing mushrooms\, threats of roadside Albanian blood feuds expose the growing cultural unrest within and between nations\, and peoples' skept icism about their future is degenerating into abject apathy. Absurdly fu nny\, quintessentially Balkan and poignantly revealing\, Corridor #8 is a fascinating portrait of the new unified Europe.\n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/corridor8_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61810504-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T220200 SUMMARY:General Idea: Art\, AIDS and the fin de siècle DESCRIPTION:In 1969 three young artists living in Toronto changed their n ames to Jorge Zontal\, Felix Partz and AA Bronson\, formed General Idea and quickly became "art stars" in an international movement that was tra nsforming conventional ideas about art. Director Mangaard presents a tri bute to their achievements through an in-depth interview with Bronson an d extensive documentation of their work. Influenced by semiotics\, conce ptual art and mass-media obsessions with glamour and celebrity\, they us ed parody\, irony and camp to subvert the constructs of popular culture. Despite their Miss General Idea Pageants and self-portraits that scream gay camp\, their sexual orientation was not publicly mentioned until th ey began to create their important body of work dealing with the AIDS ep idemic in the late 1980s. The tragic AIDS-related deaths of Felix and Jo rge in 1994 marked the end of GI as an artistic identity. \n -Lynne Fern ie\n Co-presented with Art Metropole. CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/generalideaartaidsandthefindes icle_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61926343-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T214500 SUMMARY:Toby and the Tall Corn DESCRIPTION:Made for the Omnibus TV show\, Toby is a heartwarming and ent ertaining portrait of one of the last travelling variety shows in the Un ited States. Every summer\, Toby\, the troupe's charming\, down-to-earth owner/lead actor takes his small band of performers to towns across the Midwest to perform under a massive tent. Leacock captures the heat of t he summer night on the faces of the appreciative audiences\, the thrill of the live performances and the challenge of the set-up. Toby is just o ne of many films in the Leacock oeuvre about artists and creativity. Its candid style caught the eye of filmmaker Robert Drew. Together Drew and Leacock made a number of films\, including Primary\, a film that launch ed the American vérité movement. \n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:Outstanding Achievement: Richard Leacock LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/tobyandthetallcorn_hotdocs2008 ;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61931189-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T224200 SUMMARY:Dance With A Serial Killer DESCRIPTION:May\, 1989. On a hot\, sunny afternoon in Brest\, France\, a sunbathing woman lies murdered on a crowded beach. She was stabbed to de ath in broad daylight without any apparent motive and so detective Jean- François Abgrall begins an extraordinary investigation that will lead hi m to France's most terrifying psychopath. An unstable drifter with a vio lent past\, Francis Heaulmes arouses suspicion but evades arrest. Driven by instinct and a brilliant police mind\, however\, Abgrall cannot dism iss him. As a string of similarly grizzly murders all leading to Heaulme s is discovered\, a chilling cat and mouse game ensues between Abgrall a nd the highly intelligent madman. Heaulmes taunts the detective with spe ctacularly detailed hand-drawn maps of murder scenes\, then implores his innocence. Yet Abgrall must continue to engage Heaulmes to find the fac ts. In this gripping policier\, Abgrall himself finally shares the aston ishing story of how he brought France's most notorious serial killer to justice.\n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/dancewithaserialkiller_hotdocs 2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61908288-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T233600 SUMMARY:Passage DESCRIPTION:"History would be an excellent thing if only it were true\," claimed Tolstoy\, and veteran documentarian John Walker takes us on an e pic historical adventure that involves cannibalism\, a vengeful woman an d an historical cover-up by British authorities that credited the wrong man with the discovery of the Northwest Passage. The film is based on th e lives of Dr. John Rae\, explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company\, and Si r John Franklin\, British Royal Navy officer and leader of an ill-fated 1840s Arctic expedition. Stunningly cinematic\, the film follows a trail from London to the Orkney Islands to Nunavut\, elegantly slipping betwe en past and present\, drama and documentary\, observational and self-ref lexive cinema\, to present the forces that made Franklin a hero and bani shed Rae to the margins of history. A cast of characters\, including res pected Inuit stateman Tagak Curley and the great great grandson of Charl es Dickens\, join the director as he unravels a historic fraud and sets the record straight.\n -Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/passage_hotdocs2008;jsessionid =E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61804897-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T231500 SUMMARY:The Infinite Border DESCRIPTION:A penetrating humanistic portrait of a contemporary exodus\, The Infinite Border profiles a handful of the hundreds of thousands of C entral American migrants who enter Mexico clandestinely each year en rou te to the promised land of the United States. Some are incarcerated and some are sent back\, only to return undeterred. Some bear the brutal evi dence of the dangers of riding the rails northward in the form of severe d limbs. Meanwhile\, construction of the 30-foot-high\, 700-mile-long fe nce separating the United States from Mexico continues unabated. Lovingl y shot in contemplative long takes\, this poetic film evinces a casual\, trusting rapport between filmmaker and subject. The Infinite Border off ers an evocative story of determination and hope through the lives and d reams of those who travel in search of a better life.\n\n Co-presented with SÍ-SÍ CINE TORONTO LATIN FILM FESTIVAL. CATEGORIES:Made In Mexico LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theinfiniteborder_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61918219-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T230300 SUMMARY:Wesley Willis's Joy Rides DESCRIPTION:This heart-warming bio details the remarkable life of artist and musician Wesley Willis who\, despite impossible odds\, became an und erground icon and hero to many before his untimely death in 2003 at age 40. Wesley\, a schizophrenic\, grew up in a poor area of Chicago in a br oken home. He sought refuge by making incredibly detailed freehand drawi ngs of the expressway and cityscape. As a permanent fixture at a local a rt supply store\, Wesley began making friends. He was an imposing figure : a big\, slovenly black man with wild hair and eyes\, but an infectious grin. After meeting a musician\, Wesley began to write\, perform and to ur. But fame came at a cost. On tour Wesley often forgot to look after h imself and his mental illness. By the time he died\, he had made 50 albu ms and thousands of drawings. Interviews with Wesley\, friends and famil y\, along with footage from his live performances\, paint an absorbing p ortrait of a loveable man who found happiness in creativity.\n -Shannon Abel\n Co-presented with North by Northeast Music and Film Festival and Conference CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/wesleywillissjoyrides_hotdocs2 008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61929521-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080420T233000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T013000 SUMMARY:The Fall DESCRIPTION:Considered by Peter Whitehead to be his most important film\, The Fall is an extraordinary piece of filmmaking\, an extremely persona l statement on violence\, revolution and the turbulence within late 1960 s America. Filmed entirely in and around New York between October 1967 a nd June 1968\, it features Robert Kennedy\, The Bread and Puppet Theater \, Paul Auster (fresh-faced as a Columbia student)\, Tom Hayden\, Mark R udd\, Stokely Carmichael\, H. Rap Brown\, Arthur Miller\, Robert Lowell\ , Robert Rauschenberg and The Deconstructivists. Richard Roud\, co-direc tor of the New York Film Festival\, wrote of the film\, "an attempt to c ome to grips with today\, both in terms of its content as well as its fo rm." CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thefall_hotdocs2008;jsessionid =E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61923065-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T113000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T122600 SUMMARY:Searching 4 Sandeep DESCRIPTION:Love in the digital age is complex: immediate\, yet distant\, emotionally close\, yet physically far. When Sydney-sider Poppy Stockel l set out to "research" her light-hearted doc about the online lesbian d ating scene\, she had no idea that it would launch her on a journey that would change her life forever. Frustrated\, lonely and single\, 28-year -old Stockell finds more than just research on the Internet. To her surp rise and delight she forges a deep online connection with an English wom an\, Sandeep Virdi. Poppy sends Sandeep a camera and we watch as their v irtual long-distance crush blossoms into a very real physical relationsh ip. But they face obstacles greater than the vast oceans that separate t hem. Sandeep is Sikh\, lives at home with her conservative family and\, at 31\, is still in the closet about her sexuality. Through raw\, incred ibly frank footage\, Searching 4 Sandeep follows Poppy and Sandeep's tum ultuous relationship across two years and three continents. \n -Sarah Wh itehouse\n\n\n Co-presented with Inside Out Toronto Lesbian & Gay Film and Video Festival CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/searching4sandeep_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61913204-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T131200 SUMMARY:The Demons of Eden DESCRIPTION:In 2005 Lydia Cacho\, a human-rights journalist in Mexico\, i s arrested by police after she exposes a powerful paedophile ring in her book\, Demons of Eden. Cacho gives voice to the young victims of Cancun 's underworld\, delivering a stinging indictment of businessmen Jean Suc car Kuri and Kamel Nacif Borge\, as well as the politicians who worked w ith them on the cover-up. The documentary\, made over an 18-month period \, follows Cacho as she fights the people who are attempting to silence her. Not only does the documentary reveal the rampant violence against w omen and children in Mexico\, it also exposes the dangers that journalis ts face there. Horrifying and powerful\, the doc is a tribute to one wom an's vision and drive to make a difference\, even at the expense of her own safety. CATEGORIES:Made In Mexico LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thedemonsofeden_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61917583-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T143000 SUMMARY:Hot Docs Talks: Open Source/Fair Use DESCRIPTION:Even as technology gives filmmakers the tools to mash\, remix \, sample\, and satirize\, the creative license to do so is stifled by t he restrictive terms of powerful copyright holders’ vision of the law. A presentation and discussion of the potential and challenges of Open Sou rce Cinema. CATEGORIES:Hot Docs Talks LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/hotdocstalkopensourcefairuse_h otdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61936814-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T145000 SUMMARY:Beautiful Losers DESCRIPTION:"The real magic lies not only in the fact that we were acknow ledged\, but that really\, none of us were ever supposed to get there\," says filmmaker Aaron Rose. Beautiful Losers celebrates the independent do-it-yourself spirit that unified a like-minded group of American artis ts who emerged from the underground youth subcultures of skateboarding\, graffiti\, punk rock and hip-hop in the early 1990s. It tells the story of how a group of graffiti artists\, with little or no formal training and almost no connection to the inner workings of the art world\, ended up having an huge impact on the worlds of art\, fashion\, music\, film a nd pop culture. These artists and the subcultures from which they sprang have become not only popular\, but have sparked the most influential cu ltural movement of our generation. Through a series of informal vignette s featuring 10 artists\, Beautiful Losers explores the creative impetus behind this growing movement. Rose and Joshua Leonard's captivating film offers an intimate glimpse into a fascinating and significant time in t he history of art making. \n -Sarah Whitehouse\n Co-presented with the Toronto Free Gallery. CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/beautifullosers_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61918745-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T150300 SUMMARY:Cuban Song DESCRIPTION:Every image tells a story in this sensitively crafted mosaic that captures the soul of everyday life in Havana. An irresistible sound track drives and narrates the camera's sensitive observations of the mun dane and the unexpected with lyrics of love\, longing and betrayal. A wo man prepares a meal in her tiny kitchen\, construction workers toil as p eople sing on the street\, Fidel Castro appears on television playing th e paternal role and majestic waves crash into a pier as the song cycle b uilds to a crescendo that always leads back to Cuba. This timely glimpse into the lives of ordinary Cubans under Castro was the last film made b y director and DP\, Fernand Bélanger. Knowing his time was limited\, his camera is pulled to moments representing the essential pulse of life. S adly\, Belanger died before the film was finished\, so the film was comp leted by his co-directors and longtime collaborators\, Louise Dugal and Yves Angrignon. \n -Gisèle Gordon \n\n Co-presented with the Images Fes tival. CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/cubasong_hotdocs2008;jsessioni d=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61800652-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T141500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T152000 SUMMARY:Head Wind DESCRIPTION:Although possessing a satellite dish is illegal in Iran\, as this observant\, wryly ironic film reveals\, cheesy Western television s hows somehow find their way into Iranian homes. CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/headwind_hotdocs2008;jsessioni d=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61811851-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T173900 SUMMARY:Shot In Bombay DESCRIPTION:Director Liz Mermin's fast-paced\, multilayered and captivati ng doc about shooting a blockbuster gangster movie in Bombay/Mumbia is p acked with more drama and action than the movie itself. Following a cast of charismatic and often surreal characters\, the doc goes beyond the t inselly glamour of Bollywood to explore some of the industry's darker si des. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to a star-studded cast\ , Shot in Bombay tells three intertwined stories: the rise of the city's underworld in the 1990s\, narrated by a no-nonsense ex-police chief kno wn as "Bombay's Dirty Harry"\; the tribulations of superstar Sanjay Dutt \, on trial for alleged involvement in India's largest terrorist attack\ ; and a young director's dogged quest to master the delicate art of maki ng a Bollywood blockbuster. With three and a half weeks before the movie wraps\, the lead star actor is held up in legal battles. Without the st ar the entire production is a flop. Shot in Bombay is a high-octane adve nture.\n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/shotinbombay_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61914187-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T161500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T175900 SUMMARY:The Truth Be Told: The Cases Against Supinya Klangnarong DESCRIPTION:In October 2005\, Thailand telecommunications giant Shin Corp oration\, owned by the family of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shin awatra\, brings an $11-million defamation lawsuit against Supinya Klangn arong\, a prominent Thai journalist\, university lecturer and media righ ts activist. She had accused the corporation of colluding with the gover nment. During the tumultuous months of her trial\, director Pimpaka Towi ra\, a leading figure of Thailand's independent film scene\, accompanies the level-headed Klangnarong\, capturing a portrait of idealism and int egrity. The result is a beguiling mix of cinema vérité\, personal profil e\, political exposé and national diary. Proving that freedom of speech and public activism can effect change\, The Truth Be Told seamlessly com bines a fluid experimental style with an engaging narrative structure th at comments on the legal\, political and constitutional turmoil in conte mporary Thai society.\n\n Co-presented with Toronto Reel Asian Internat ional Film Festival CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thetruthbetoldthecasesagainsts upinyaklangnarong_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8A A UID:61917227-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T175700 SUMMARY:Beyond Our Ken DESCRIPTION:In this riveting and disturbing doc\, filmmakers Luke Walker and Melissa Mclean obtain unprecedented access to a controversial Austra lian "spiritual enlightenment" organization called Kenja. Founded in 198 2 by leader Ken Dyers and wife Jan Hamilton\, Kenja members and supporte rs claim that the group offers a Utopia where life's purpose is defined\ , the human spirit discovered and the universe itself explained. Meanwhi le\, during its 25-year lifetime\, Kenja has been derided in the media a s a "secretive cult\," and Ken described as a "seedy conman." Families b lame the group for the disappearance of loved ones. As the people of Ken ja prepare to defend themselves in the latest of several court cases\, K en and Jan invite the filmmakers into their spiritual enlightenment cent re. Through remarkable vérité footage and candid interviews\, Beyond Our Ken explores the anatomy and ambiguity of the cult enigma. We discover the extent to which environment defines our reality\, a reality as fragi le as the truth.\n -Shannon Abel\n Co-presented with OzFlix. CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/beyondourken_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61931653-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T201600 SUMMARY:Bigger\, Stronger\, Faster* DESCRIPTION:America defines itself in the superlative: the biggest\, stro ngest\, fastest country in the world. Is it any wonder that so many of i ts athletes take performance-enhancing drugs? Director Christopher Bell explores America's win-at-all-costs philosophy by examining the way his two brothers became members of the steroid subculture in an effort to re alize their American dream. Ingeniously beginning the film by harkening back to the mentality of the 1980s-where the heroes were Rambo\, Conan a nd Hulk Hogan-Bell recounts how these role models led him and his brothe rs into powerlifting and dreams of becoming all-star wrestlers. Those dr eams were soon shattered by the realization that success in those fields required the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Bell uses his personal story as an entrée into an analysis of the bigger issues surrounding th ese drugs: ethics in sports\, the physical and psychological health rami fications and the mentality that fuels it all. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/biggerstrongerfaster_hotdocs20 08;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61792357-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T184500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T201500 SUMMARY:Memory Books DESCRIPTION:This deeply moving film-about keeping a family history alive after the core of the family dies-also explores how HIV/AIDS continues t o infect and kill millions of Africans each year. In Uganda alone\, ther e are more than two million orphaned children\, most victims of HIV/AIDS . Not only do these innocent children lose their immediate sense of belo nging and place in the world\, they are also at risk of losing their fam ily roots. "Memory books" are collections of family stories\, photos and drawings by Ugandan mothers dying of AIDS\, used to speak to their orph aned children of family histories\, traditions and values. They are inva luable to children\, not only after their mothers have passed\, but also as their mothers prepare to die. As children sit with their mothers and assemble their memory books\, they gently prepare for the fact of their mothers' death. Memory books help ease these innocent children into an understanding of an imminent and sad reality soon to change their lives forever. \n -Sarah Whitehouse\n Co-presented with African Medical & Res earch Foundation. CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/memorybooks_hotdocs2008;jsessi onid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61814329-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T200000 SUMMARY:Carts of Darkness DESCRIPTION:On the way to cash in bottles for a few dollars\, a group of homeless men turn into road warriors\, careening their grocery carts dow n the death-defying hills of North Van at speeds of 70 kilometres per ho ur. There are dangers and sometimes a man is seriously injured. "That's life. Everybody in extreme sports gets bruises\," says Big Al\, a cart r acer and hell raiser just out of prison. Director Murray Siple loves spe ed and made sports films until a car accident 10 years ago rendered him quadriplegic. So when he met these guys cashing in bottles at the superm arket\, a friendship and mutual trust developed through the understandin g that their disabilities make them invisible to society. Fergie\, "pick eled as a newt\," sings a wicked version of Tennessee Stud. Max barbecue s a gourmet salmon in the liquor store parking lot. Al takes us on a tou r of grocery stores to teach us how to choose exactly the right vehicle. In the tradition of the best documentaries\, both subjects and filmmake rs are revealed as fragile\, funny and fully human. \n -Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/cartsofdarkness_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61798247-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T201000 SUMMARY:Wild Blue Yonder DESCRIPTION:Documentary filmmaker David Maysles\, renowned for such films as Salesman\, Grey Gardens and Gimme Shelter\, was simply Dad to daught er Celia\, who had no idea growing up that her father was a film pioneer . By picking up a camera\, Celia takes after her father and journeys int o the past via interviews with family\, friends\, former film subjects a nd colleagues. But what she truly longs for is to feel her father's pres ence\, to see and hear him again\, even if it's only on screen. Her ques t to remember her father by way of his films is challenged\, however\, b y Uncle Albert\, who has long protected David's film catalogue and is le ss than eager to collaborate with his niece. Wild Blue Yonder is a first -person search for answers in images\, in the hope they might bring back the dead. A thoughtful family drama that examines a legacy of filmmakin g and loss\, passed down generation to generation.\n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/wildblueyonder_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61917321-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T202900 SUMMARY:Be Like Others DESCRIPTION:Would it surprise you to know that sex change operations are legal in Iran\, a theocratic state with strict social mores and fundamen talist values? More than 20 years ago\, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatw a (religious edict) making sex changes permissible for "diagnosed transs exuals." Yet homosexuality remains punishable by death. Forced to live i n secret for fear of retribution\, a generation of young Iranian men are adopting an identity legally allowed to them-transsexual. In pursuit of what one man simply calls "a decent life\," they flock to the country's best-established gender reassignment surgeon\, where they are counselle d by 24-year-old Vida\, an eloquent post-op woman who claims to be "rebo rn" but warns the men of the dangers they face. Intimate and unflinching \, Be Like Others accompanies several young men through their transforma tions. Capturing the complexities of Iranian society\, it's a fascinatin g portrait of people on the fringes of Iranian life looking for acceptan ce through the most radical of means.\n\n Co-presented with Xtra! CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/belikeothers_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61823580-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T204500 SUMMARY:Second Skin DESCRIPTION:The fantasy worlds displayed in role-playing games World of W arcraft\, Second Life and EverQuest are second homes to millions of user s who live and love in these virtual spaces. The film takes a frenetic l ook at the Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) subculture and its devotee s: four friends bond and break-up\; a couple falls in love without meeti ng\; a disabled man grows wings\; a gaming addict enters rehab\; "gold f armers" in China ply their trade. Slipping in and out of these virtual w orlds leads to real-world consequences-jobs\, relationships\, health and bill payments suffer. Never has a leisure activity been seen to pose su ch a threat to the status quo. Second Skin takes a voyeuristic approach to the lives and problems of its characters\, mimicking the connected di sconnection of their beloved games. An engrossing look at the real-world industry and side-effects grown from a virtual "time-waster." \n -Angie Driscoll \n\n Co-presented with Fantasy Worldwide Film Festival. CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/secondskin_hotdocs2008;jsessio nid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61913994-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T200000 SUMMARY:Pilgrimage From Scattered Points DESCRIPTION:Where is the border between music\, sound and noise? What can the answer tell us about the political situation under capitalism? Thes e are questions that the British Scratch Orchestra tried to answer in th e 1960s with the motto "everyone can play everything." Amateurs and prof essionals alike\, including Michael Nyman and Brian Eno\, express themse lves against any form of aural logic. Filmmaker Luke Fowler depicts the Scratch Orchestra's composer Cornelius Cardew in action\, resonating in a brilliant\, impressionistic visual landscape. Sound and image unite to form a hypnotic and freely associating current\, which reaches far into the subjective sphere of experimental film. CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/pilgrimagefromscatteredpoints_ hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61926590-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T222500 SUMMARY:My Mother's Garden DESCRIPTION:"As a kid I realized that she had a problem when my friends f rom school would tell me they saw my mom in the alley going through thei r dumpster\," says filmmaker Cynthia Lester. This deeply moving personal story of filmmaker Lester's mother explores one woman's extreme attachm ent to material objects and her emotional struggle to let go. Overwhelme d by the excesses of North American consumer-driven society\, Polish imm igrant Eugenia Lester has taken recycling to the extreme. Her hoarding d isorder has forced her and her three children out of the family home. Wi th the mountains of debris growing daily\, Eugenia can no longer dwell i nside and is forced to sleep in her garden or\, as Eugenia sees it\, in "God's house." When the community threatens to evict her\, her children come together for the first time to confront their mother's illness\, di g out their home and regain a sense of family. My Mother's Garden is a b rave and heartfelt diary of a mother and daughter brought together to pu rge and rebuild. \n-Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/mymothersgarden_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61911428-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T230400 SUMMARY:The English Surgeon DESCRIPTION:When British brain surgeon Henry Marsh first visited the KGB Hospital in Kiev in the early 1990s\, he was appalled by the conditions. Patients were dying from simple tumours left untreated. Since then\, Ma rsh has been on a mission to create a viable brain surgery clinic\, salv aging discarded equipment from British hospitals\, second-hand drills fr om flea markets and any other tools that may be fashioned to do the job. Geoffrey Smith's exceptional documentary follows the maverick neurosurg eon on his latest trip to the Ukraine\, as he once again encounters pati ents for whom he is their last chance. Marian is among them. Stricken by an enormous\, life-threatening brain tumour\, we follow Marian through his harrowing brain surgery. As Marsh tackles increasingly risky cases\, he is haunted by the memory of a young Ukrainian girl whose operation w ent fatally wrong. Tense\, heartbreaking and at times humorous\, this is an extraordinary documentary. Musical score composed and performed by N ick Cave and Warren Ellis.\n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:Featured, International Spectrum LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theenglishsurgeon_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61810898-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T230200 SUMMARY:A Road to Mecca. The Journey of Muhammad Asad DESCRIPTION:Who would have guessed that an Austrian Jew would one day bec ome one of the most remarkable Muslims of the 20th century? Born Leopold Weiss in 1900\, Lvov\, Ukraine\, to a strict religious upbringing\, he would fatefully travel to the Middle East and change the world. His naïv e orientalist fascination and his rejection of '20s Western materialism lead to a stunning Muslim conversion in 1926. As Muhammad Asad\, he make s the pilgrimage to Mecca and begins an extraordinary career. He becomes an advisor at the king's court of Saudi Arabia\, an early supporter of the creation of Pakistan\, a UN ambassador and author of one of the fine st English translations of the Koran. Part biography\, part travelogue\, A Road to Mecca retraces Asad's life and the trajectory of his influenc e. However\, as the cameras encounter the people touched by his work\, h is vision of Islam comes into an inevitable contemporary perspective as well in this most interesting historical commentary.\n -Myrocia Watamani uk CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/aroadtomeccathejourneyofmohamm adasad_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61815505-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T225200 SUMMARY:Seaview DESCRIPTION:North of Dublin\, on the beautiful Irish seaside\, lies a biz arre-looking collection of rusting fairground rides and grey cement buil dings with brightly painted doors. The compound\, called Mosney\, opened in 1948 as a summer holiday camp\, a place where Irish families would e scape the daily grind for a week in order to relax\, dance\, eat fish 'n ' chips and enjoy the salty fresh air. A visit to Mosney today presents a radically different picture\, but still a picture of escape. This form er holiday camp is now a camp of another kind\, a holding centre for asy lum seekers from all corners of the globe. Here the residents wait years for the results of their asylum claims. Seaview's amusement-park settin g and contemplative camera-work underscores the emotional state of its d esperate inhabitants. To them\, Mosney is limbo. Seaview is a poignant p ortrayal of the modern immigrant experience. \n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/seaview_hotdocs2008;jsessionid =E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61816180-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T234300 SUMMARY:Citizen Havel DESCRIPTION:The last president of Czechoslovakia and first president of t he Czech Republic\, Václav Havel-former dissident\, leader in the Velvet Revolution\, playwright\, poet\, essayist and Rolling Stones fan-is sim ply an icon among contemporary political leaders. A former enemy of the state who came to be freely elected as its leader\, Havel was thrust int o the spotlight of international politics and celebrity. Filmmaker Pavel Koutecký was given unprecedented access to Havel\, following him from 1 992\, on the cusp of the first election of the newly formed Czech Republ ic\, to his return to civilian life in 2003. The result is fascinating. Whether giving Keith Richards restaurant tips or facilitating the dissol ution of the Warsaw Pact\, Havel is seen to be always\, resolutely\, him self. An honest portrait of an honest politician\, Citizen Havel is a ra re gem of a documentary. \n -Sean Farnel CATEGORIES:Featured, Special Presentations LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/citizenhavel_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61792828-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T232300 SUMMARY:The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins DESCRIPTION:Vanessa Beecroft\, contemporary art world star\, is as passio nate about her life as she is about her art. Her New York dealer Jeffrey Deitch aptly notes that\, with Vanessa\, there is no boundary between l ife and art. Filmmaker Pietra Brettkelly follows Beecroft during a 16-mo nth journey to the Sudan. Beecroft has been drawn to Africa as inspirati on for her art. But now her bond to Africa has deepened through her burn ing desire to adopt two orphaned babies. In a provocative and highly con troversial photograph\, we see Beecroft nurse the black babies on her ex posed white bosoms\, composing a provocative tableau that references bot h religious iconography and colonialism. As the complexities of the inte rnational adoption become apparent\, the process creates ethical and emo tional waves that travel from Sudan to New York. Brettkelly's engaging f ilm confronts the complex and not easily answerable question: is there a suitable reaction to African suffering?\n -Sarah Whitehouse\n\n Co-pre sented with CONTACT Toronto Photography Festival CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theartstarandthesudanesetwins_ hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61823242-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T222900 SUMMARY:Rosa's Letters - Telling a Story DESCRIPTION:Rosa's Letters - Telling a Story centres on the letters of Ro sa Luxemburg (1870-1919)\, pioneering Polish socialist\, philosopher and revolutionary. But rather than simply documenting the life of a histori cal personality\, artist Pia Rönicke appropriates the letters in a delib erately subjective manner. The film's voiceover is based on fragments fr om various stages of Rosa's remarkable life\, including many years of co rrespondence to her lover and work partner Leo Jogiches\, her letters to lover and friend Konstantin Zetkin\, and writings from her time in pris on in Wronki and Breslau to her friends Sonja Liebknecht and Hans Diefen bach. A fascinating transformation takes place as intimate letters becom e publicly accessible\, historical documents. CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/rosasletterstellingastory_hotd ocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61927230-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080421T235500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T011000 SUMMARY:Carny DESCRIPTION:An intimate\, gritty and poetic adventure following the lives of carnies\, travelling fairground workers who have abandoned the secur ity of the "real world" for the refuge and variety of the road. Deep pai n is masked behind the huge grin of Hairy\, the charismatic lesbian cott on-candy seller. Through her eyes\, we see a world of unlikely Romeos\, easy love and fierce friendships that obscure personal hardship and trou bled pasts. Often from an underclass that has few options\, the carnies struggle with addiction\, loneliness\, poverty and shattered dreams\, fi nding solace only in the company of their own\, who accept them as they are. Some have worked the fairs for more than 50 years\, some were born or escaped into it\, but all are gripped by the romance of the bright mi dway lights lyrically captured in lush interludes of Kodachrome Super 8. \n -Gisèle Gordon \n\n Co-presented with Women in Film and Television - Toronto. CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/carny_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E 18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61512855-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T113000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T124400 SUMMARY:Must Read After My Death DESCRIPTION:When an unconventional 1960s Connecticut couple turn to psych iatry for help with their troubled marriage\, their lives spiral out of control. Allis and Charley submit themselves and their four children to a daily barrage of group and individual therapies. But things get worse. Pills are prescribed\, family members are sent away. The family\, as in structed by their doctors\, record their discussions and fights. Smart\, free-thinking Allis begins to question the therapy. Her heart-wrenching audio diaries tell a story of oppression\, abuse and institutionalized misogyny. Remarkably\, all of these recordings were preserved\, hidden a way for Allis's children to discover after her death. The film uses this intimate material combined with home movies and an unusual soundtrack t o viscerally reconstruct the family's struggle and to comment on the mor es of American culture in the '60s. The result is brilliant\, a searing indictment of the nuclear family and a moving tribute to a woman who fou ght convention.\n -Shannon Abel\n\n Co-presented with Rendezvous with M adness Film Festival CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/mustreadaftermydeath_hotdocs20 08;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61814864-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T130000 SUMMARY:As Slow As Possible DESCRIPTION:On his 18th birthday\, Ryan Knighton was told he would slowly go blind. Now\, 15 years later\, as he loses his last sliver of sight\, he wants to travel to an ancient church in Germany to hear the note cha nge in the 639-year-long organ performance of the John Cage composition "As Slow as Possible." He compares the note to the North Star\, "somethi ng to navigate by" as he prepares to be a non-sighted person. Director S cott Smith accompanies him on his journey as he\, like Cage\, embraces c hance encounters: he meets a man in a bear suit who has seen miracles in India\, young tourists who think he's a rock star. When he gets lost on the way to the church\, a young boy miraculously appears to guide him t he final steps. As we hear the note change\, we realize that the journey and the film are not so much about loss as about the inevitability of t ransformation. \n -Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/asslowaspossible_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61796973-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T143000 SUMMARY:20 Seconds of Joy DESCRIPTION:"BASE jumping kills people very quick\," says Jeb Corliss\, p rofessional BASE jumper and mentor. "It's one of the few sports in the w orld where you make mistakes\, you get killed." Addictions take many for ms. For 30-year-old Norwegian adrenaline junkie and professional BASE ju mper Karina Hollekim\, her addiction is danger. In Jens Hoffmann's breat htaking documentary\, the filmmaker follows the elusive extreme sport at hlete for five years. Amongst spectacular landscapes in some of the most remote corners of the world\, we follow Karina as she hurls herself off increasingly treacherous cliffs. Is the high worth the price when one w rong move means certain death? For Karina\, the answer is a resounding y es! With the danger comes the ultimate rush\, 20 seconds of blissful joy . An ecstasy unlike any other. An act of faith in defiance of death\, em bracing life to the fullest. The film offers stunning cinematography and a breathtaking joyride. \n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/20secondsofjoy_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61822866-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T134500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T152000 SUMMARY:Betrayal (Nerakhoon) DESCRIPTION:During the U.S. military's covert operations in Laos in the e arly 1970s\, Thavisouk Phrasavath's father was recruited to help the CIA . But when the Americans withdrew and the communist regime gained power\ , Phrasavath's father and thousands of others were declared enemies of t he state and imprisoned. At the age of 12\, Phrasavath made a harrowing escape from Laos to Thailand and eventually to New York City\, where the hardships of an immigrant's life forced him\, his eight siblings and hi s resilient mother to face an entirely different kind of war. The direct orial debut of acclaimed cinematographer Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine o f the Spotless Mind\, Neil Young: Heart of Gold)\, Betrayal is a lyrical film that fluidly incorporates archival footage\, cinema vérité\, revea ling personal interviews and visually poetic montages. Beautifully filme d over the course of 23 years\, it offers a stirring portrait of life in exile\, of the far-reaching consequences of war and the unbreakable bon ds of family. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/betrayalnerakhoon_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61792183-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T153000 SUMMARY:The Infinite Border DESCRIPTION:A penetrating humanistic portrait of a contemporary exodus\, The Infinite Border profiles a handful of the hundreds of thousands of C entral American migrants who enter Mexico clandestinely each year en rou te to the promised land of the United States. Some are incarcerated and some are sent back\, only to return undeterred. Some bear the brutal evi dence of the dangers of riding the rails northward in the form of severe d limbs. Meanwhile\, construction of the 30-foot-high\, 700-mile-long fe nce separating the United States from Mexico continues unabated. Lovingl y shot in contemplative long takes\, this poetic film evinces a casual\, trusting rapport between filmmaker and subject. The Infinite Border off ers an evocative story of determination and hope through the lives and d reams of those who travel in search of a better life.\n\n Co-presented with SÍ-SÍ CINE TORONTO LATIN FILM FESTIVAL. CATEGORIES:Made In Mexico LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theinfiniteborder_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61918223-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T173400 SUMMARY:Shadow of the Holy Book DESCRIPTION:Why are some of the world's biggest international companies t ranslating the Ruhnama\, an absurd government propaganda book from Turkm enistan\, into their own languages? In this provocative film\, Finnish d irector Arto Halonen and journalist Kevin Frazier set out to uncover how prominent international companies could willingly turn a blind eye to b latant human rights violations in the name of corporate greed. The docum entary follows the filmmakers from Central Asia to Europe and the U.S. a s they track down the companies that give their clandestine support to t he Ruhnama (The Book of Soul)\, a propaganda tool written by Turkmenista n's dictatorship to maintain social and political control. The Ruhnama h as become an infamous symbol of the shame of Western companies that igno re corruption in order to secure multimillion-dollar deals. Shadow of th e Holy Book offers a probing investigation into the immorality of corrup t international business. \n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/shadowoftheholybook_hotdocs200 8;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61932228-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T161500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T173300 SUMMARY:The Glow of White Women DESCRIPTION:Filmmaker Yunus Vally was convinced that the promised virgins of paradise would all be white. Born and raised in Nelspruit\, a deeply racist town in provincial South Africa\, Vally grew up in a Muslim fami ly\, attended Mosque five times daily and dreamed of paradise. But as a young man\, Vally decided he wanted to find out if the promised virgins were worth the wait. This creatively composed and humorous film looks at white women in the dark continent and explores the forbidden sexual des ires of blacks and whites under apartheid. Probing and provocative\, The Glow of White Women explores one man's desire and taboo.\n -Sarah White house CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theglowofwhitewomen_hotdocs200 8;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61811221-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T180700 SUMMARY:Junior DESCRIPTION:There's no margin for error\, getting drunk or breaking curfe w in the high-stakes game stickhandled by the coaches\, agents\, trainer s\, owners and shareholders of junior hockey. Direct cinema and dramatic editing capture the joys and the anguish of young Baie-Comeau players t hroughout an entire season. The team isn't doing well and the pressure t o win is intense. As players autograph their pictures for teenage girls after a game\, managers and owners meet behind closed doors to decide th eir fate. In one brutal scene\, a player is "fired" minutes before the t eam photo shoot. In another\, a player is told he's been traded and has 30 minutes to catch a bus to a different city to play that night-or his hockey career is over. Junior has no actual hockey scenes\, but superb f ilmmaking and the boys' rough and tumble passage to manhood take this fi lm beyond a typical sports documentary. In French and English with Engli sh subtitles. \n -Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/junior_hotdocs2008;jsessionid= E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61803965-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T174400 SUMMARY:Corridor #8 DESCRIPTION:Take a trip on a connecting road that doesn't exist between t hree mistrustful countries that may not even want to be linked. Filmmake r Boris Despodov embarks on just such a haphazard journey as he attempts to travel along Corridor #8\, the massive infrastructural project joini ng Bulgaria\, Macedonia and Albania. Commissioned by the EU in 1997\, th e complex rail and road system is designed to connect the Black and Adri atic seas and lift the economic hopes of the farmers and blue-collar wor kers along its way. But after millions of euros and 10 years\, little pr ogress has been made. An unfinished Bulgarian railway tunnel is used for growing mushrooms\, threats of roadside Albanian blood feuds expose the growing cultural unrest within and between nations\, and peoples' skept icism about their future is degenerating into abject apathy. Absurdly fu nny\, quintessentially Balkan and poignantly revealing\, Corridor #8 is a fascinating portrait of the new unified Europe.\n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/corridor8_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61810557-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T200000 SUMMARY:Man on Wire DESCRIPTION:On August 7\, 1974\, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit s teps out on a wire suspended 1\,350 feet above ground between the twin t owers of New York's World Trade Center. He dances on the wire with no sa fety net for almost an hour\, crossing it eight times before he is arres ted for what becomes known as "the artistic crime of the century." In th e months leading up to his clandestine walk\, Petit assembles a team of accomplices to plan and execute his "coup" in the most intricate detail. How do they pull it off? Moving between New York and his secret trainin g camp in rural France\, Petit and his team plot every detail. Like a ba nd of professional bank robbers\, the tasks they face seem virtually ins urmountable. But Petit is a man possessed\; nothing will thwart his miss ion to conquer the world's tallest buildings. Winner of both Jury and Au dience awards at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/manonwire_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61794591-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T184500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T194300 SUMMARY:Paradise DESCRIPTION:After 65 years of marriage Hans and Kerstin still cannot agre e on wallpaper. One day\, behind Kerstin's back\, Hans hangs a hideous p attern of flowers and birds to enhance a feature wall in their summer ho use. This seemingly innocuous décor decision puts their relationship to the test and exposes the secret of their long-lasting union-change. Adap tation to change is a key ingredient to their partnership and its longev ity. Paradise is a powerful and loving portrait of an old married couple -bright\, funny\, touching and provocative. The pair's bickering\, battl es and concessions colour an image of honest affection that reminds us h ow we often mistreat and take for granted those we cherish most. \n -Ang ie Driscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/paradise_hotdocs2008;jsessioni d=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61911973-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T195300 SUMMARY:The Man Who Crossed the Sahara DESCRIPTION:A breathtaking journey into the mysterious life\, death and a fterlife of Frank Cole\, a brilliant\, enigmatic filmmaker obsessed with his art\, the Sahara\, life\, and most compellingly\, death. His formal ly inventive films explored his fascination with mortality\, which was a lso his fuel for life. Director Korbett Matthews fluidly wraps Cole's ha unting film footage around interviews with his family and friends to con struct a fitting meta-narrative for a man whose art and life were indist inguishable. Dreaming of conquering his nemesis\, the Sahara\, and armed with only with his Bolex camera\, Cole made the gruelling 7\,300-kilome tre\, 11-month journey by camel across the cadaver-littered desert. Over the next 10 years\, Cole worked obsessively on the film he shot there\, Life Without Death. When it was almost complete\, Cole went back to sho ot more footage but tragically\, he was never to return. The Man Who Cro ssed the Sahara is a gripping cinematic tale of artistic passion taken t o the limits of human endurance. \n -Gisèle Gordon CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/themanwhocrossedthesahara_hotd ocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61804352-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T201400 SUMMARY:The Lie of the Land DESCRIPTION:Award-winning filmmaker Molly Dineen demystifies the romantic ism of the English countryside in this visceral portrait of contemporary farm life. Dineen accompanies three farmers along their daily routes\, discovering disturbing agricultural practices\, government red tape and injustice at every turn. Animals are slaughtered\, not for their meat\, not because of disease\, but because they have no market value. Dineen f ocuses on the controversial fox hunt as a starting point to reveal the c omplex economic relationship between farmers and hunters and the role th at commerce plays against animal rights-with unexpected fallout. In an i ncreasingly competitive global food market\, British farmers' rural way of life and means of making a living are quickly disappearing. The strug gle to make ends meet in a changing agrarian society is also applicable here at home. The Lie of the Land cuts a striking portrait of globalizat ion and a country's divestment in producing its own local food products. \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thelieoftheland_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61909722-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T202100 SUMMARY:Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai DESCRIPTION:"The environment of Third World countries is destroyed with t he full knowledge and support of the developed countries\, who support d ictators\, who don't help us overcome these dictators and who do busines s with these dictators\, and then\, hold the poor people to account." No bel laureate Wangari Maathai says it best\, whether describing Kenya's r ecent history or her own. One of the most inspirational orators and acti vists you'll ever encounter\, Maathai's simple act of planting trees ins pired Kenya's environmental movement\, helped protect the human rights o f its people\, and the democracy of the entire nation. Maathai is a humb le and empowering teacher and activist\, radiating warmth and intelligen ce. She reminds us that even the smallest act of defiance\, the quietest voice of dissent\, could very well change the world. Taking Root is an incredible look at a woman's reclamation of her cultural roots from the ravages of colonialism. \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:Featured, World Showcase LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/takingrootthevisionofwangarima athai_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61916942-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T200000 SUMMARY:Bevel Up: Drugs\, Users and Outreach Nursing DESCRIPTION:Bevel Up is a compelling documentary that follows outreach nu rses through their day-to-day work as they bring healthcare directly to youth\, sex workers\, addicts and street people in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. As they work with people in alleys and seedy hotels\, the nurs es reflect on why they do this work\, and about the respectful and nonju dgmental relationship so crucial in developing trust. That they\, and th e filmmakers\, have earned this trust is apparent in the honest\, wry an d painful observations from both nurses and street people. Nettie Wild's award-winning documentaries have shown her to be one of Canada's most s ocially committed and skilled directors\, a filmmaker who embeds her bel ief that "behind the politics in our communities lie human dramas that d eeply affect our lives" into her films. While Bevel Up stands alone as a powerful vérité documentary\, Wild has designed it to be the heart of a groundbreaking interactive DVD.\n -Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/bevelupdrugsusersandoutreachnu rsing_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61797520-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T202200 SUMMARY:Tehran Has No More Pomegranates DESCRIPTION:In this beautiful and sometimes mischievous homage to the wei rd and wonderful city of Tehran\, the curious contradictions of Iranian history are playfully exposed. Director Massoud Bakhshi constructs a cen tury-spanning postmodern portrait of a metropolis turning megalopolis\, increasingly an unsustainable urban mess of pollution\, inadequate infra structure and overcrowding. Using an energetic mix of archival footage\, unconventional photography and sometimes asynchronous music and sound\, Bakhshi considers the aesthetic and cultural values that have shaped ol d and new Tehran. His project openly flouts the conventions of documenta ry essays\, and purposefully embraces moments of nonsense and incongruit y. The chaotic impulse of the film's construction is a fitting parallel to the development of a city that has haphazardly survived oppressors\, wars and internal revolutions. Ironically matching style and subject mat ter\, Bakhshi narrates that it's impossible for him to organize and save his movie from travesty-a critical sentiment he clearly projects onto T ehran\, too.\n -Brett Hendrie CATEGORIES:Spotlight On Iran LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/tehranhasnomorepomegranates_ho tdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61826195-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T221600 SUMMARY:Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home DESCRIPTION:With his first son just born\, filmmaker Andrew Nisker is ver y concerned with the state of our planet. As the average household level of consumption rises\, so does the astronomical amount of waste we coll ectively create. Are we turning the earth into one giant garbage can? De termined to understand the damage we are doing\, Nisker enlists the aver age urban family\, the McDonalds\, to keep every scrap of garbage that t hey produce for three months in their increasingly smelly garage. From o rganic waste to dirty diapers\, from plastic bottles to Christmas wrappi ng\, the McDonald's discover that for every action there is a reaction t hat affects them and the entire planet. At turns hilarious\, provocative \, and alarming\, Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home will change the way you think about the garbage sitting out on your curb and will make you think twice before you eat on paper plates.\n -Alan Black\n\n Co-pr esented with Planet in Focus: International Environmental Film & Video F estival CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/garbagetherevolutionstartsatho me_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61909533-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T224300 SUMMARY:Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma DESCRIPTION:"I don't think it's heroic...I think it's decent. I think it' s normal\," remarks 1999 Nobel Peace Prize winner\, Dr. James Orbinski\, former president of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders\, of his humanitarian aid work. While writing a book about his experiences \, Orbinski is accompanied by filmmaker Patrick Reed on a stirring journ ey back to Africa\, where he faced the world's most inhumane suffering. Reed and Orbinski paint a compassionate picture of tending to an ever-mo re-desperate population during the crises of the Rwandan genocide and So mali famine. Facing threats of violence\, lack of supplies and worsening corruption by governments who would co-opt even the word "humanitariani sm" in support of their destructive agendas\, Orbinski chooses decency o ver callousness\, care over cynicism and life over darkness even when ma king impossible decisions about who lives and who dies. \n -Angie Drisco ll \n\n Co-presented with Dignitas International. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/triagedrjamesorbinskishumanita riandilemma_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61795079-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T223400 SUMMARY:BLAST! DESCRIPTION:Astrophysicist geeks and the scientifically challenged alike\ , enjoy! Follow along on a hardcore\, risk-filled\, scientific adventure into the heart of the Big Bang. In the ongoing attempt to unlock the my steries of the origins of the universe\, an international team of ultra- adventurous astrophysicists\, led by Dr. Mark Devlin\, filmmaker Paul De vlin's brother\, is aiming to launch a multi-million dollar telescope at tached to a NASA high-altitude balloon. And therein begins the risky and revolutionary challenges that ceaselessly plague a tireless world-class research team. Every computer chip\, every mirror fragment and even an ill-placed workman's glove could spell success or disaster. As the teles cope and team travel from Kiruna\, Sweden\, to Victoria Island\, deep in the Canadian North\, and to Antarctica\, BLAST! tells a human story-the daily frustrations\, enormous sacrifices\, catastrophic failures and tr anscendent triumphs-of scientific pursuit. \n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/blast_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E 18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61907998-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T230400 SUMMARY:Full Battle Rattle DESCRIPTION:Welcome to Medina Wasl\, a mock village at the U.S. Army's Ir aq simulation training facility in California's Mojave Desert. Here\, Am erican soldiers fresh from service in Iraq are cast as insurgents\, whil e real Iraqi exiles play civilians. Tension between soldiers and Iraqi r ole players\, many recent immigrants\, hangs thick in the air. Gunfire\, explosions\, night attacks and ambushes are skillfully scripted to refl ect possible battle scenarios on the all-too-real frontlines. Bloodied d ummies stand in for collateral damage. Death scenes and memorial service s are simulated to enhance the soldiers' training. Filmmakers Tony Gerbe r and Jesse Moss offer a startling look at this most unusual "theatre of war" and the effects on its "actors." Full Battle Rattle moves from com ic to surreal to poignant\, and provides a dead-on allegory for 21st-cen tury war and the play between make-believe and machismo that defines the American war machine. \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/fullbattlerattle_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61811009-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T225400 SUMMARY:Letter to Anna - The Story of Journalist Politkovskaya's Death DESCRIPTION:Anna Politkovskaya was living dangerously close to the edge. An uncompromising journalist\, she was an openly fierce critic of Vladim ir Putin's regime. Her dedication to the oppressed took her into the hea rt of the Chechen War. Her unwavering fight for justice fueled her scath ing exposés of a corrupt government. She pleaded for the world's attenti on. And someone was listening. On October 7\, 2006\, Anna Politkovskaya was shot to death in the stairwell of her apartment building. The film p resents an insightful investigation not only of a scandalous crime\, but of how far political figures may go in order to sustain their own power . Even more vividly\, however\, Letter to Anna celebrates the life of an extraordinary woman and mother\, a fearless defender of the people\, "t he conscience of Russia."\n -Myrocia Watamaniuk\n\n Co-presented with C anadian Journalists for Free Expression CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/lettertoannathestoryofjournali stpolitkovskayasdeath_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF 1A8AA UID:61812441-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T225400 SUMMARY:Who's Afraid of Kathy Acker? DESCRIPTION:"I like relationships and I like flesh" declared punk icon an d one-time sex worker Kathy Acker when asked about cybersex. Called an o utlaw writer by the New York Times\, Acker was a contradictory figure. W ith her close-cropped hair\, tattoos and piercings\, she made SM and bit ing political satire part of her oeuvre. Her sexually explicit writing\, which challenged assumptions of gender roles and sexuality\, was banned in many countries. Barbara Caspar creatively captures Acker's life\, fr om her wild early years in New York City to her untimely death from brea st cancer in 1997. The film is filled with interviews with friends\, fig ures from the era's punk world and young girls who speak about Acker's i nfluence on them. There is also animation\, graphic text and reenactment s of her bestseller Blood and Guts in High School. Acker lived on her ow n terms till the very end. Caspar captures her spirit\, her controversie s and her ongoing influence on the riot grrrl scene.\n\n \nPhoto credi t: KATHY BREW CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/whosafraidofkathyacker_hotdocs 2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61929616-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T224500 SUMMARY:Carny DESCRIPTION:An intimate\, gritty and poetic adventure following the lives of carnies\, travelling fairground workers who have abandoned the secur ity of the "real world" for the refuge and variety of the road. Deep pai n is masked behind the huge grin of Hairy\, the charismatic lesbian cott on-candy seller. Through her eyes\, we see a world of unlikely Romeos\, easy love and fierce friendships that obscure personal hardship and trou bled pasts. Often from an underclass that has few options\, the carnies struggle with addiction\, loneliness\, poverty and shattered dreams\, fi nding solace only in the company of their own\, who accept them as they are. Some have worked the fairs for more than 50 years\, some were born or escaped into it\, but all are gripped by the romance of the bright mi dway lights lyrically captured in lush interludes of Kodachrome Super 8. \n -Gisèle Gordon \n\n Co-presented with Women in Film and Television - Toronto. CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/carny_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E 18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:90176402-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080422T234500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T010300 SUMMARY:Wesley Willis's Joy Rides DESCRIPTION:This heart-warming bio details the remarkable life of artist and musician Wesley Willis who\, despite impossible odds\, became an und erground icon and hero to many before his untimely death in 2003 at age 40. Wesley\, a schizophrenic\, grew up in a poor area of Chicago in a br oken home. He sought refuge by making incredibly detailed freehand drawi ngs of the expressway and cityscape. As a permanent fixture at a local a rt supply store\, Wesley began making friends. He was an imposing figure : a big\, slovenly black man with wild hair and eyes\, but an infectious grin. After meeting a musician\, Wesley began to write\, perform and to ur. But fame came at a cost. On tour Wesley often forgot to look after h imself and his mental illness. By the time he died\, he had made 50 albu ms and thousands of drawings. Interviews with Wesley\, friends and famil y\, along with footage from his live performances\, paint an absorbing p ortrait of a loveable man who found happiness in creativity.\n -Shannon Abel\n Co-presented with North by Northeast Music and Film Festival and Conference CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/wesleywillissjoyrides_hotdocs2 008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61929525-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T121000 SUMMARY:Wild Blue Yonder DESCRIPTION:Documentary filmmaker David Maysles\, renowned for such films as Salesman\, Grey Gardens and Gimme Shelter\, was simply Dad to daught er Celia\, who had no idea growing up that her father was a film pioneer . By picking up a camera\, Celia takes after her father and journeys int o the past via interviews with family\, friends\, former film subjects a nd colleagues. But what she truly longs for is to feel her father's pres ence\, to see and hear him again\, even if it's only on screen. Her ques t to remember her father by way of his films is challenged\, however\, b y Uncle Albert\, who has long protected David's film catalogue and is le ss than eager to collaborate with his niece. Wild Blue Yonder is a first -person search for answers in images\, in the hope they might bring back the dead. A thoughtful family drama that examines a legacy of filmmakin g and loss\, passed down generation to generation.\n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/wildblueyonder_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61917337-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T113000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T114200 SUMMARY:Dance With A Serial Killer DESCRIPTION:May\, 1989. On a hot\, sunny afternoon in Brest\, France\, a sunbathing woman lies murdered on a crowded beach. She was stabbed to de ath in broad daylight without any apparent motive and so detective Jean- François Abgrall begins an extraordinary investigation that will lead hi m to France's most terrifying psychopath. An unstable drifter with a vio lent past\, Francis Heaulmes arouses suspicion but evades arrest. Driven by instinct and a brilliant police mind\, however\, Abgrall cannot dism iss him. As a string of similarly grizzly murders all leading to Heaulme s is discovered\, a chilling cat and mouse game ensues between Abgrall a nd the highly intelligent madman. Heaulmes taunts the detective with spe ctacularly detailed hand-drawn maps of murder scenes\, then implores his innocence. Yet Abgrall must continue to engage Heaulmes to find the fac ts. In this gripping policier\, Abgrall himself finally shares the aston ishing story of how he brought France's most notorious serial killer to justice.\n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/dancewithaserialkiller_hotdocs 2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61908315-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T150200 SUMMARY:A Road to Mecca. The Journey of Muhammad Asad DESCRIPTION:Who would have guessed that an Austrian Jew would one day bec ome one of the most remarkable Muslims of the 20th century? Born Leopold Weiss in 1900\, Lvov\, Ukraine\, to a strict religious upbringing\, he would fatefully travel to the Middle East and change the world. His naïv e orientalist fascination and his rejection of '20s Western materialism lead to a stunning Muslim conversion in 1926. As Muhammad Asad\, he make s the pilgrimage to Mecca and begins an extraordinary career. He becomes an advisor at the king's court of Saudi Arabia\, an early supporter of the creation of Pakistan\, a UN ambassador and author of one of the fine st English translations of the Koran. Part biography\, part travelogue\, A Road to Mecca retraces Asad's life and the trajectory of his influenc e. However\, as the cameras encounter the people touched by his work\, h is vision of Islam comes into an inevitable contemporary perspective as well in this most interesting historical commentary.\n -Myrocia Watamani uk CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/aroadtomeccathejourneyofmohamm adasad_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61815593-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T144000 SUMMARY:My Mother's Garden DESCRIPTION:"As a kid I realized that she had a problem when my friends f rom school would tell me they saw my mom in the alley going through thei r dumpster\," says filmmaker Cynthia Lester. This deeply moving personal story of filmmaker Lester's mother explores one woman's extreme attachm ent to material objects and her emotional struggle to let go. Overwhelme d by the excesses of North American consumer-driven society\, Polish imm igrant Eugenia Lester has taken recycling to the extreme. Her hoarding d isorder has forced her and her three children out of the family home. Wi th the mountains of debris growing daily\, Eugenia can no longer dwell i nside and is forced to sleep in her garden or\, as Eugenia sees it\, in "God's house." When the community threatens to evict her\, her children come together for the first time to confront their mother's illness\, di g out their home and regain a sense of family. My Mother's Garden is a b rave and heartfelt diary of a mother and daughter brought together to pu rge and rebuild. \n-Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/mymothersgarden_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61911476-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T150000 SUMMARY:Second Skin DESCRIPTION:The fantasy worlds displayed in role-playing games World of W arcraft\, Second Life and EverQuest are second homes to millions of user s who live and love in these virtual spaces. The film takes a frenetic l ook at the Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) subculture and its devotee s: four friends bond and break-up\; a couple falls in love without meeti ng\; a disabled man grows wings\; a gaming addict enters rehab\; "gold f armers" in China ply their trade. Slipping in and out of these virtual w orlds leads to real-world consequences-jobs\, relationships\, health and bill payments suffer. Never has a leisure activity been seen to pose su ch a threat to the status quo. Second Skin takes a voyeuristic approach to the lives and problems of its characters\, mimicking the connected di sconnection of their beloved games. An engrossing look at the real-world industry and side-effects grown from a virtual "time-waster." \n -Angie Driscoll \n\n Co-presented with Fantasy Worldwide Film Festival. CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/secondskin_hotdocs2008;jsessio nid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61914057-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T134500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T151500 SUMMARY:Memory Books DESCRIPTION:This deeply moving film-about keeping a family history alive after the core of the family dies-also explores how HIV/AIDS continues t o infect and kill millions of Africans each year. In Uganda alone\, ther e are more than two million orphaned children\, most victims of HIV/AIDS . Not only do these innocent children lose their immediate sense of belo nging and place in the world\, they are also at risk of losing their fam ily roots. "Memory books" are collections of family stories\, photos and drawings by Ugandan mothers dying of AIDS\, used to speak to their orph aned children of family histories\, traditions and values. They are inva luable to children\, not only after their mothers have passed\, but also as their mothers prepare to die. As children sit with their mothers and assemble their memory books\, they gently prepare for the fact of their mothers' death. Memory books help ease these innocent children into an understanding of an imminent and sad reality soon to change their lives forever. \n -Sarah Whitehouse\n Co-presented with African Medical & Res earch Foundation. CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/memorybooks_hotdocs2008;jsessi onid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61814394-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T154500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T174300 SUMMARY:Citizen Havel DESCRIPTION:The last president of Czechoslovakia and first president of t he Czech Republic\, Václav Havel-former dissident\, leader in the Velvet Revolution\, playwright\, poet\, essayist and Rolling Stones fan-is sim ply an icon among contemporary political leaders. A former enemy of the state who came to be freely elected as its leader\, Havel was thrust int o the spotlight of international politics and celebrity. Filmmaker Pavel Koutecký was given unprecedented access to Havel\, following him from 1 992\, on the cusp of the first election of the newly formed Czech Republ ic\, to his return to civilian life in 2003. The result is fascinating. Whether giving Keith Richards restaurant tips or facilitating the dissol ution of the Warsaw Pact\, Havel is seen to be always\, resolutely\, him self. An honest portrait of an honest politician\, Citizen Havel is a ra re gem of a documentary. \n -Sean Farnel CATEGORIES:Featured, Special Presentations LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/citizenhavel_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61792879-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T173400 SUMMARY:The English Surgeon DESCRIPTION:When British brain surgeon Henry Marsh first visited the KGB Hospital in Kiev in the early 1990s\, he was appalled by the conditions. Patients were dying from simple tumours left untreated. Since then\, Ma rsh has been on a mission to create a viable brain surgery clinic\, salv aging discarded equipment from British hospitals\, second-hand drills fr om flea markets and any other tools that may be fashioned to do the job. Geoffrey Smith's exceptional documentary follows the maverick neurosurg eon on his latest trip to the Ukraine\, as he once again encounters pati ents for whom he is their last chance. Marian is among them. Stricken by an enormous\, life-threatening brain tumour\, we follow Marian through his harrowing brain surgery. As Marsh tackles increasingly risky cases\, he is haunted by the memory of a young Ukrainian girl whose operation w ent fatally wrong. Tense\, heartbreaking and at times humorous\, this is an extraordinary documentary. Musical score composed and performed by N ick Cave and Warren Ellis.\n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:Featured, International Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theenglishsurgeon_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61810905-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T161500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T180600 SUMMARY:Passage DESCRIPTION:"History would be an excellent thing if only it were true\," claimed Tolstoy\, and veteran documentarian John Walker takes us on an e pic historical adventure that involves cannibalism\, a vengeful woman an d an historical cover-up by British authorities that credited the wrong man with the discovery of the Northwest Passage. The film is based on th e lives of Dr. John Rae\, explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company\, and Si r John Franklin\, British Royal Navy officer and leader of an ill-fated 1840s Arctic expedition. Stunningly cinematic\, the film follows a trail from London to the Orkney Islands to Nunavut\, elegantly slipping betwe en past and present\, drama and documentary\, observational and self-ref lexive cinema\, to present the forces that made Franklin a hero and bani shed Rae to the margins of history. A cast of characters\, including res pected Inuit stateman Tagak Curley and the great great grandson of Charl es Dickens\, join the director as he unravels a historic fraud and sets the record straight.\n -Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/passage_hotdocs2008;jsessionid =E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61804901-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T161500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T165900 SUMMARY:Rosa's Letters - Telling a Story DESCRIPTION:Rosa's Letters - Telling a Story centres on the letters of Ro sa Luxemburg (1870-1919)\, pioneering Polish socialist\, philosopher and revolutionary. But rather than simply documenting the life of a histori cal personality\, artist Pia Rönicke appropriates the letters in a delib erately subjective manner. The film's voiceover is based on fragments fr om various stages of Rosa's remarkable life\, including many years of co rrespondence to her lover and work partner Leo Jogiches\, her letters to lover and friend Konstantin Zetkin\, and writings from her time in pris on in Wronki and Breslau to her friends Sonja Liebknecht and Hans Diefen bach. A fascinating transformation takes place as intimate letters becom e publicly accessible\, historical documents. CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/rosasletterstellingastory_hotd ocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61927278-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T195700 SUMMARY:The Black List DESCRIPTION:The derogatory connotations of the term "black list" have alw ays bothered filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and critic Elvis Mitch ell. By crafting a series of provocative and emotional interviews with 2 0 prominent African-Americans\, the pair powerfully (re)present The Blac k List for a new generation. Black leaders from diverse backgrounds incl uding Colin Powell\, Sean "Puffy" Combs\, Suzan-Lori Parks and Rev. Al S harpton\, speak directly to the camera\, boldly sharing not only persona l experiences\, but controversial views on the joys and struggles of bla ck life in America. While Toni Morrison offers positive experiences grow ing up as a black\, female child\, Lou Gossett Jr. calls out Hollywood's racism over not getting any work after winning the Oscar. Chris Rock as serts that true equality in major league baseball is achieved only when bad black players are signed\, while museum curator Thelma Golden recall s how people assumed she only worked for Thelma Golden. With stunning co mposition and incisive interviewing\, The Black List stimulates a most p owerful discussion of race\, oppression and empowerment.\n -Myrocia Wata maniuk CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theblacklist_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61792573-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T184500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T195800 SUMMARY:Belarusian Waltz DESCRIPTION:Belarus is Europe's last dictatorship\, a society of total po litical control\, mass poverty and nuclear pollution. Human-rights activ ists are regularly persecuted and mercilessly punished by an intolerant government. Fear keeps opposition in check and its citizens uniformly an d appropriately patriotic. Belarusian Waltz is the story of Alexander Pu shkin\, a performance artist who uses his "patriotic" art to protest aga inst his country's dictatorship. He is one of the very few undeterred by threats of political reprisals. Despite the risks of imprisonment and t orture\, Pushkin delights in being visibly subversive\, sarcastic and co ntroversial. Despite grave consequences he organizes public stunts that mock President Alexander Lukashenko. Director Andrzej Fidyk\, one of Pol and's most esteemed and accomplished filmmakers\, has created a thorough ly engaging\, humorous and provocative portrait of an artist and his cou ntry.\n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/belarusianwaltz_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61918914-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T203000 SUMMARY:Man on Wire DESCRIPTION:On August 7\, 1974\, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit s teps out on a wire suspended 1\,350 feet above ground between the twin t owers of New York's World Trade Center. He dances on the wire with no sa fety net for almost an hour\, crossing it eight times before he is arres ted for what becomes known as "the artistic crime of the century." In th e months leading up to his clandestine walk\, Petit assembles a team of accomplices to plan and execute his "coup" in the most intricate detail. How do they pull it off? Moving between New York and his secret trainin g camp in rural France\, Petit and his team plot every detail. Like a ba nd of professional bank robbers\, the tasks they face seem virtually ins urmountable. But Petit is a man possessed\; nothing will thwart his miss ion to conquer the world's tallest buildings. Winner of both Jury and Au dience awards at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/manonwire_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61794617-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T201200 SUMMARY:FLicKeR DESCRIPTION:Multimedia artist\, mystic\, gay pop-culture icon and sometim e Canadian Brion Gysin wanted to liberate humanity by freeing our minds. To subvert patterns of thought\, he built the Dream Machine\, a hypnoti c flickering light source with the power to trigger the brain's alpha wa ves\, evoking a dream state. Gysin was the secret alchemist of the Beat Generation\, forever hidden in the shadow of his best friend\, artistic collaborator and soul mate\, William S. Burroughs. With the Dream Machin e\, they wanted to "storm the citadels of enlightenment." Filmmaker Nik Sheehan takes us on a magical ride through Gysin's fascinating life. Wit h a custom-made dream machine in tow\, Sheehan interviews Gysin's friend s and pop-culture icons such as Marianne Faithfull\, Genesis P-Orridge\, Iggy Pop\, Kenneth Anger and DJ Spooky. Their insights into the power o f the trance-inducing device explore creativity in its purest form and a sk crucial questions about the nature of art and consciousness. Note: Ca ution is advised for people with photosensitive epilepsy or other nervou s disorders. \n -Gisèle Gordon CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/flicker_hotdocs2008;jsessionid =E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61803757-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T203800 SUMMARY:At the Death House Door DESCRIPTION:For 15 years\, Pastor Carroll Pickett believes he is doing Go d's work as the death-house chaplain at an infamous Texas state penitent iary. But extraordinary circumstances and a complete stranger cause him to question his beliefs and the U.S. justice system. After each of the 9 5 executions he presides over\, Pickett records an audiotape account of his final day spent with the inmate. One tape changes everything. Carlos De Luna is convicted of a savage murder\, but Pickett instinctively kno ws he is ministering to an innocent man. Joined by Chicago Tribune crime reporters\, Pickett revisits De Luna's case and his ensuing crisis of f aith. Part investigation\, part confessional\, award-winning filmmakers Peter Gilbert and Steve James present a thoroughly engaging\, deeply per sonal look at the death penalty and the lives of all those it condemns. \n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/atthedeathhousedoor_hotdocs200 8;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61810149-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T203500 SUMMARY:The Mother DESCRIPTION:The Mother is a lyrical and compelling portrait of Liubov\, a no-nonsense\, single\, working-class mother of nine in rural Russia. In Russian\, Liubov means "love"\, and while she often curses out her chil dren\, her affection is clear. Liubov's life as a mother had a heart-bre aking start-she was "sold" to a man who raped her-and now\, as a farm la bourer\, she can barely keep food on the table. With her eldest son in j ail and another with a learning disability\, Liubov has to work even har der. But as the film movingly illustrates\, her hardships are punctuated by moments of great joy\, like her eldest daughter's marriage. Liubov i s always on the move\, whether running away from her violent husband or to her eldest son in jail\, raising the question of whether she will eve r be able to be still and truly happy. Not just a sensitive and intimate portrayal of an amazing character's plight\, The Mother is also an inno vation in storytelling.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/themother_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61814521-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T202900 SUMMARY:The Red Card DESCRIPTION:Murder\, social taboos and celebrity combine in Iran's answer to the O.J. Simpson trial. Nasser Khani is an Iranian hero and the coun try's top sports star: a champion soccer player and coach respected for his talent and strategy. . When his mistress\, Shahla Jahed\, is arreste d and put on trial for the murder of Nasser's wife\, his idolized story becomes unraveled. As the Iranian media sensationalize the case\, direct or Mahnaz Afzali goes beyond the tabloid headlines. With remarkable acce ss to both Nasser and Shahla through behind-the-scenes interviews and ho me-movies\, Afzali reveals the curious and cryptic tensions between priv ate lives and public personas. Shahla's courtroom testimony is sassy\, t ragically eloquent and totally riveting. Her public romantic pleas are a stark contrast to the private Nasser\, who is revealed as more of a sur ly\, self-centred slob than his superstar athlete persona should allow. Is Shahla really the murderer? What really happened in this love triangl e? The answers provided by the strange\, melodramatic courtroom proceedi ngs are inconclusive\, a mystery deepened by Nasser and Shahla's vacilla ting relationship.\n -Brett Hendrie CATEGORIES:Spotlight On Iran LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theredcard_hotdocs2008;jsessio nid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61824859-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T230300 SUMMARY:Stranded\, I've come from a plane that crashed in the mountains DESCRIPTION:In October 1972\, a plane carrying 45 members of an Uruguayan rugby team crashes into the Andes. Their struggle to stay alive would m ake international headlines and inspires the world as one of the greates t survival stories ever told. Thirty-five years later\, filmmaker Gonzal o Arijon reunites all 16 survivors back at the crash site to share their incredible experience. A trusted friend of the survivors\, Arijon offer s recovered photographs of the scene and brilliantly recreated sequences with the utmost respect to illustrate the group's sheer bravery against insurmountable odds. As visually stunning as Arijon's homage is\, the s urvivors' candid sharing of their deepest feelings on their harrowing ps ychological and physical ordeal creates even more emotional power. While the press sensationalized tales of their cannibalism\, a survivor's own words sanctify their desperation and reclaim their dignity: "I decided I wanted to live." A cinematic tour-de-force\, Stranded is a deeply movi ng film about honour\, courage and survival. \n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/strandedivecomefromaplanethatc rashedinthemountains_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1 A8AA UID:61794911-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T221400 SUMMARY:To See If I'm Smiling DESCRIPTION:The frank testimonials of six female Israeli soldiers pack a powerful emotional punch. The young women revisit their tours of duty in the occupied territories with surprising honesty and strip bare stereot ypes of gender differences in the military. No information seems to be o ff-limits. The former soldiers share shocking moments of negligence\, fl ippancy\, immaturity and power-tripping. The psychological transformatio n that these young women underwent as a result of military service is bo th upsetting and riveting. The culture of war transforms people: persona lities change\, moral codes are subverted\, values are supplanted and ma sks are constructed to dull the pain of what they did and didn't do in u niform. To See if I'm Smiling illustrates how the trauma of war alters p ersonalities and behaviour\, and raises questions about the Israeli-Pale stinian conflict. Does military service create more anger\, resentment a nd disagreement\, or does it inspire understanding and empathy? Does it propagate or deter hostilities? \n -Angie Driscoll \n\n Co-presented wi th Female Eye Film Festival. CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/toseeifimsmiling_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61817367-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T231600 SUMMARY:Bigger\, Stronger\, Faster* DESCRIPTION:America defines itself in the superlative: the biggest\, stro ngest\, fastest country in the world. Is it any wonder that so many of i ts athletes take performance-enhancing drugs? Director Christopher Bell explores America's win-at-all-costs philosophy by examining the way his two brothers became members of the steroid subculture in an effort to re alize their American dream. Ingeniously beginning the film by harkening back to the mentality of the 1980s-where the heroes were Rambo\, Conan a nd Hulk Hogan-Bell recounts how these role models led him and his brothe rs into powerlifting and dreams of becoming all-star wrestlers. Those dr eams were soon shattered by the realization that success in those fields required the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Bell uses his personal story as an entrée into an analysis of the bigger issues surrounding th ese drugs: ethics in sports\, the physical and psychological health rami fications and the mentality that fuels it all. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/biggerstrongerfaster_hotdocs20 08;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61792430-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T224200 SUMMARY:The Lost Colony DESCRIPTION:"In some vague newspaper article\, I read about 'newly opened KGB documents' revealing that some time\, somewhere\, in Russia an atte mpt had been made to cross monkeys with humans\," says filmmaker Astrid Bussink. The Sukhum Primate Centre in the former Soviet republic of Abkh azia is the world's oldest monkey laboratory. Once a pioneering research institute\, it fell into decay during Georgia's civil war in the early 1990s. Despite its decrepit state\, the elderly staff dream of its reviv al while urgently looking for financiers to restore the buildings for it s 80th anniversary. At times touching and often amusing\, Bussink's film follows the staff in their tireless effort to put life back into the fa ded institution. The buildings have decayed and the majority of monkeys have fled into the mountains\, but their desire and hope is kept alive a gainst all odds. The film provides a beautiful picture of the power of h opes and dreams.\n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thelostcolony_hotdocs2008;jses sionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61813432-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T224800 SUMMARY:Vesterbro DESCRIPTION:Young love can be wild\, tempestuous even. But when filmmaker Michael Noer gave his 20-something neighbours Julie and Martin a video camera to film their daily lives\, he had no idea what a roller-coaster it could be. In a west-end Copenhagen flat\, the do-nothing pair have a full-time time relationship: partying together\, texting each other\, ma king out and having complete emotional breakdowns. As the two lurch from crisis to surprising crisis\, Julie takes to her camera as a therapist\ , confessing her innermost desires and fears over Martin\, while he reve als complexities and hidden anxieties of his own. Will they continue to deny impending realities or defy them and hold onto their happiness? The couple's visceral self-filmed footage and Noer's intimate observations form an almost uncomfortably honest\, energetic and most modern love sto ry.\n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/vesterbro_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61818585-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T223800 SUMMARY:Where Do I Belong? DESCRIPTION:Faced with a nation crumbling down around them\, millions of Afghans have been fleeing their home country over the past 30 years. War \, brutal regimes and poor quality of life have made it a necessity to m ove on. Many have sought refuge in Iran\, most without official status o r sanction in that country. While there\, many Afghan men wed Iranian wo men\, often despite deep-rooted cultural frictions. Their compelling sto ries are elegantly considered by award-winning filmmaker Mahvash Sheikho leslami in Where Do I Belong? As the couples struggle to be accepted\, b oth officially and culturally\, their stark interviews expose lives fill ed with raw and uncompromising decisions about love\, country and commun al acceptance. Sheikholeslami constructs the film inside a stunning phot ographic travelogue\, filled with dramatic cinematography of rural and u rban landscapes. The stories of the mixed Afghani-Iranian marriages ofte n suggest bravery and patience\; this is a visually poetic look at endur ing\, unlikely relationships.\n -Brett Hendrie CATEGORIES:Spotlight On Iran LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/wheredoibelong_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61826774-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T230700 SUMMARY:Virtual JFK: Vietnam if Kennedy Had Lived DESCRIPTION:Virtual JFK is a fascinating investigation of one of the most debated "what if" scenarios in the history of U.S. foreign policy: What would President John F. Kennedy have done in Vietnam if he had not been assassinated in 1963\, and had he been re-elected in 1964? Using an arr ay of resources\, the film employs what Harvard historian Niall Ferguson calls "virtual history\," assessing the plausibility of counterfactuals \, "what ifs" and the outcomes they might have produced. The film examin es Kennedy's decision-making patterns\, like his responses to such Cold War events as Bay of Pigs and East Berlin. Studying Kennedy's term of pr esidency is not merely an academic exercise\; it serves as a case study of the broader issue about presidents and their decisions regarding war and peace. On the eve of a U.S. election\, Virtual JFK offers a timely a nd chilling reminder that the individual who holds the office of the pre sident matters greatly indeed.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/virtualjfkvietnamifkennedyhadl ived_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61819087-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080423T235500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T011900 SUMMARY:The Rise and Fall of the Grumpy Burger DESCRIPTION:Filmmaker Marshall Sfalcin is Canada's answer to Ed Wood and Russ Meyer. His no-budget monster movies are works of fantasy\, favourin g big scares and bigger boobs to truth and authenticity. With his latest film\, Sfalcin is determined to tell the "serious" story about his fami ly history and their bold claim that they\, and not McDonald's\, are the rightful inventors of fast food. Along to capture the making of Sfalcin 's masterpiece is fellow filmmaker and childhood buddy Matt Gallagher. A s Sfalcin's vision of his film changes due to a barrage of obstacles\, G allagher's documentary morphs from straightforward "making-of" film into a complex mediation on truth and fiction\, where the lines are always b lurred. The Rise and Fall of Grumpy Burger is that rare treat of a film that entertains and captivates with its outrageous story and brash chara cters while\, at the very same time\, asking the audience to question ev erything they are seeing. \n -Alan Black CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theriseandfallofthegrumpyburge r_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61912433-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T130000 SUMMARY:Carts of Darkness DESCRIPTION:On the way to cash in bottles for a few dollars\, a group of homeless men turn into road warriors\, careening their grocery carts dow n the death-defying hills of North Van at speeds of 70 kilometres per ho ur. There are dangers and sometimes a man is seriously injured. "That's life. Everybody in extreme sports gets bruises\," says Big Al\, a cart r acer and hell raiser just out of prison. Director Murray Siple loves spe ed and made sports films until a car accident 10 years ago rendered him quadriplegic. So when he met these guys cashing in bottles at the superm arket\, a friendship and mutual trust developed through the understandin g that their disabilities make them invisible to society. Fergie\, "pick eled as a newt\," sings a wicked version of Tennessee Stud. Max barbecue s a gourmet salmon in the liquor store parking lot. Al takes us on a tou r of grocery stores to teach us how to choose exactly the right vehicle. In the tradition of the best documentaries\, both subjects and filmmake rs are revealed as fragile\, funny and fully human. \n -Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/cartsofdarkness_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61798300-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T133800 SUMMARY:At the Death House Door DESCRIPTION:For 15 years\, Pastor Carroll Pickett believes he is doing Go d's work as the death-house chaplain at an infamous Texas state penitent iary. But extraordinary circumstances and a complete stranger cause him to question his beliefs and the U.S. justice system. After each of the 9 5 executions he presides over\, Pickett records an audiotape account of his final day spent with the inmate. One tape changes everything. Carlos De Luna is convicted of a savage murder\, but Pickett instinctively kno ws he is ministering to an innocent man. Joined by Chicago Tribune crime reporters\, Pickett revisits De Luna's case and his ensuing crisis of f aith. Part investigation\, part confessional\, award-winning filmmakers Peter Gilbert and Steve James present a thoroughly engaging\, deeply per sonal look at the death penalty and the lives of all those it condemns. \n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/atthedeathhousedoor_hotdocs200 8;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61810235-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T150800 SUMMARY:The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins DESCRIPTION:Vanessa Beecroft\, contemporary art world star\, is as passio nate about her life as she is about her art. Her New York dealer Jeffrey Deitch aptly notes that\, with Vanessa\, there is no boundary between l ife and art. Filmmaker Pietra Brettkelly follows Beecroft during a 16-mo nth journey to the Sudan. Beecroft has been drawn to Africa as inspirati on for her art. But now her bond to Africa has deepened through her burn ing desire to adopt two orphaned babies. In a provocative and highly con troversial photograph\, we see Beecroft nurse the black babies on her ex posed white bosoms\, composing a provocative tableau that references bot h religious iconography and colonialism. As the complexities of the inte rnational adoption become apparent\, the process creates ethical and emo tional waves that travel from Sudan to New York. Brettkelly's engaging f ilm confronts the complex and not easily answerable question: is there a suitable reaction to African suffering?\n -Sarah Whitehouse\n\n Co-pre sented with CONTACT Toronto Photography Festival CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theartstarandthesudanesetwins_ hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61823246-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T143700 SUMMARY:Tehran Has No More Pomegranates DESCRIPTION:In this beautiful and sometimes mischievous homage to the wei rd and wonderful city of Tehran\, the curious contradictions of Iranian history are playfully exposed. Director Massoud Bakhshi constructs a cen tury-spanning postmodern portrait of a metropolis turning megalopolis\, increasingly an unsustainable urban mess of pollution\, inadequate infra structure and overcrowding. Using an energetic mix of archival footage\, unconventional photography and sometimes asynchronous music and sound\, Bakhshi considers the aesthetic and cultural values that have shaped ol d and new Tehran. His project openly flouts the conventions of documenta ry essays\, and purposefully embraces moments of nonsense and incongruit y. The chaotic impulse of the film's construction is a fitting parallel to the development of a city that has haphazardly survived oppressors\, wars and internal revolutions. Ironically matching style and subject mat ter\, Bakhshi narrates that it's impossible for him to organize and save his movie from travesty-a critical sentiment he clearly projects onto T ehran\, too.\n -Brett Hendrie CATEGORIES:Spotlight On Iran LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/tehranhasnomorepomegranates_ho tdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61826297-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T152200 SUMMARY:Seaview DESCRIPTION:North of Dublin\, on the beautiful Irish seaside\, lies a biz arre-looking collection of rusting fairground rides and grey cement buil dings with brightly painted doors. The compound\, called Mosney\, opened in 1948 as a summer holiday camp\, a place where Irish families would e scape the daily grind for a week in order to relax\, dance\, eat fish 'n ' chips and enjoy the salty fresh air. A visit to Mosney today presents a radically different picture\, but still a picture of escape. This form er holiday camp is now a camp of another kind\, a holding centre for asy lum seekers from all corners of the globe. Here the residents wait years for the results of their asylum claims. Seaview's amusement-park settin g and contemplative camera-work underscores the emotional state of its d esperate inhabitants. To them\, Mosney is limbo. Seaview is a poignant p ortrayal of the modern immigrant experience. \n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/seaview_hotdocs2008;jsessionid =E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61816243-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T143000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T155100 SUMMARY:Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai DESCRIPTION:"The environment of Third World countries is destroyed with t he full knowledge and support of the developed countries\, who support d ictators\, who don't help us overcome these dictators and who do busines s with these dictators\, and then\, hold the poor people to account." No bel laureate Wangari Maathai says it best\, whether describing Kenya's r ecent history or her own. One of the most inspirational orators and acti vists you'll ever encounter\, Maathai's simple act of planting trees ins pired Kenya's environmental movement\, helped protect the human rights o f its people\, and the democracy of the entire nation. Maathai is a humb le and empowering teacher and activist\, radiating warmth and intelligen ce. She reminds us that even the smallest act of defiance\, the quietest voice of dissent\, could very well change the world. Taking Root is an incredible look at a woman's reclamation of her cultural roots from the ravages of colonialism. \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:Featured, World Showcase LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/takingrootthevisionofwangarima athai_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61916954-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T173000 SUMMARY:Hot Docs Talks: Iran to You DESCRIPTION:Guest filmmakers and delegates from Iran\, this year’s Spotli ght country\, discuss their projects and the conditions for making docum entaries in their homeland. CATEGORIES:Hot Docs Talks LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/hotdocstalkirantoyou_hotdocs20 08;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61936885-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T161500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T172900 SUMMARY:Be Like Others DESCRIPTION:Would it surprise you to know that sex change operations are legal in Iran\, a theocratic state with strict social mores and fundamen talist values? More than 20 years ago\, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatw a (religious edict) making sex changes permissible for "diagnosed transs exuals." Yet homosexuality remains punishable by death. Forced to live i n secret for fear of retribution\, a generation of young Iranian men are adopting an identity legally allowed to them-transsexual. In pursuit of what one man simply calls "a decent life\," they flock to the country's best-established gender reassignment surgeon\, where they are counselle d by 24-year-old Vida\, an eloquent post-op woman who claims to be "rebo rn" but warns the men of the dangers they face. Intimate and unflinching \, Be Like Others accompanies several young men through their transforma tions. Capturing the complexities of Iranian society\, it's a fascinatin g portrait of people on the fringes of Iranian life looking for acceptan ce through the most radical of means.\n\n Co-presented with Xtra! CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/belikeothers_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61823628-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T175400 SUMMARY:Letter to Anna - The Story of Journalist Politkovskaya's Death DESCRIPTION:Anna Politkovskaya was living dangerously close to the edge. An uncompromising journalist\, she was an openly fierce critic of Vladim ir Putin's regime. Her dedication to the oppressed took her into the hea rt of the Chechen War. Her unwavering fight for justice fueled her scath ing exposés of a corrupt government. She pleaded for the world's attenti on. And someone was listening. On October 7\, 2006\, Anna Politkovskaya was shot to death in the stairwell of her apartment building. The film p resents an insightful investigation not only of a scandalous crime\, but of how far political figures may go in order to sustain their own power . Even more vividly\, however\, Letter to Anna celebrates the life of an extraordinary woman and mother\, a fearless defender of the people\, "t he conscience of Russia."\n -Myrocia Watamaniuk\n\n Co-presented with C anadian Journalists for Free Expression CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/lettertoannathestoryofjournali stpolitkovskayasdeath_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF 1A8AA UID:61812492-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T182400 SUMMARY:Who's Afraid of Kathy Acker? DESCRIPTION:"I like relationships and I like flesh" declared punk icon an d one-time sex worker Kathy Acker when asked about cybersex. Called an o utlaw writer by the New York Times\, Acker was a contradictory figure. W ith her close-cropped hair\, tattoos and piercings\, she made SM and bit ing political satire part of her oeuvre. Her sexually explicit writing\, which challenged assumptions of gender roles and sexuality\, was banned in many countries. Barbara Caspar creatively captures Acker's life\, fr om her wild early years in New York City to her untimely death from brea st cancer in 1997. The film is filled with interviews with friends\, fig ures from the era's punk world and young girls who speak about Acker's i nfluence on them. There is also animation\, graphic text and reenactment s of her bestseller Blood and Guts in High School. Acker lived on her ow n terms till the very end. Caspar captures her spirit\, her controversie s and her ongoing influence on the riot grrrl scene.\n\n \nPhoto credi t: KATHY BREW CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/whosafraidofkathyacker_hotdocs 2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61929620-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T200300 SUMMARY:Flow: For Love of Water DESCRIPTION:Water sustains every creature on this planet. Like the Earth\ , we are 70 percent water\, with 60\,000 miles of veins and arteries str etching throughout our bodies\, pumping oxygenated blood to keep us heal thy and alive. Similarly\, the lakes\, rivers\, streams and oceans make up a vast circulatory system moving oxygenated water throughout the worl d\, keeping the planet alive. But through years of abuse and contaminati on we are killing our very life source\, our water systems. Each year\, polluted and diseased water kills more people than AIDS\, more people th an wars. More than 30\,000 people die every day from water-borne disease s. The global water supply isn't merely at risk\, it's already in crisis . To make matters worse\, the privatization of water supply and the emer gence of a global water business are restricting access to clean water t o those who can pay. Unless we instigate change\, only those who can pay for their water will survive.\n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/flowforloveofwater_hotdocs2008 ;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61909347-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T184500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T195500 SUMMARY:The Beetle DESCRIPTION:Director Yishai Orian is one of the millions of proud Beetlem anics sprinkled throughout the world. Despite the vehicle's rough and no isy ride\, underpowered motor and dubious distinction as Hitler's "car f or the masses\," the Volkswagen Beetle became the most produced car of a single design in history (Hitler himself is said to have sketched the p rototype for what would become the Beetle). Sadly\, Orian's beloved 40-y ear-old car is on its last legs and his beloved and very pregnant wife w ants it scrapped. We join the filmmaker on his extremely funny and touch ing road trip as he introduces us to the people who owned\, loved and ev en gave birth in his cherished car. As fatherhood looms\, Orian is reluc tant to let go of the past\, and he debates his options to repair or sel l the car. The Beetle was selected as the opening night film at this yea r's prestigious DocAviv Festival. \n -Chris McDonald CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thebeetle_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61823914-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T203000 SUMMARY:The Forgotten Woman DESCRIPTION:Internationally renowned as a photographer\, Dilip Mehta was working as the production designer on Water\, his sister's Oscar-nominat ed feature about widows in 1930s India\, when he learned that 40 million women lived in the same conditions today. Appalled\, he felt compelled to make this powerful documentary that testifies to the contemporary rea lities behind the historical fiction. The film opens in the ancient temp le city of Vrindavan with striking images of thousands of widows living in poverty. It then travels to rural villages to hear from women beginni ng to organize for their rights and to New Delhi to listen to war widows . In a country in which sophisticated urban lifestyles and ancient rural traditions co-exist\, Mehta understands the power of light and composit ion to tell a story and brings his photographer's eye to every frame of this film. Although he claims no overt political agenda\, the stories an d images he captures raise a powerful call for change. \n -Lynne Fernie \n\n Co-presented with Filmi - South Asian Film Festival. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theforgottenwoman_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61793240-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T202600 SUMMARY:S&M: Short and Male DESCRIPTION:"A short guy who is sensitive is in deep shit." So begins thi s investigation into the relationship between male height\, self-esteem and success. With humour and bite\, 5'3" Howard Goldberg tackles the tal l issue of heightism. A few sample facts: over a lifetime\, a 6' man ear ns about $280\,000 more than his 5'5" counterpart\, sperm banks have min imum height requirements for donors\, and women could be genetically har d-wired to pick the tall guy. Around the world\, the bias seems to hold true. In China\, minimum heights are posted in certain job descriptions. The French seem to have more enlightened attitudes-short can still be s exy\, thanks to Emperor Napoleon. Most disturbing is "stature-lengthenin g" surgery\, in which bones are broken\, then stretched in excruciating increments as they heal. No wonder sales for elevator shoes are so stron g. All this won't be news for members of the National Organization of Sh ort Statured Adults\, but might teach the rest of us a few things. \n -G isèle Gordon CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/smshortandmale_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61805527-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T201900 SUMMARY:Mechanical Love DESCRIPTION:In the near future\, the elderly will outnumber children for the first time in our human history. There will be a gap in the social f abric\, resulting in loneliness and depression from lack of contact and companionship. To patch this gap\, engineers like Professor Ishiguro are developing therapeutic companion robots\, near identical copies of huma ns designed to keep us company at home or in nursing homes. The film lea ds up to a revealing moment when the professor's android copy is introdu ced to his wife and daughter for the first time. Will the robot possess sonzai-kan\, a human presence? Or will it remain uncanny and strange? Wi ll his family emotionally bond to the robot? Will they eventually love h im? Mechanical Love explores the intimate and complex relationships betw een therapeutic robots and humans\, raising the question: Can robots off er a substitute for human affection?\n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/mechanicallove_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61910236-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T203000 SUMMARY:An Island Calling DESCRIPTION:Based on the book Deep Beyond the Reef by Owen Scott\, vetera n Kiwi director Annie Goldson tells a fascinating and tragic story that spans four generations of a white Fijian family\, the Scotts\, considere d amongst the colonial island's most prominent and colourful inhabitants . Fiji's lavish homes\, private clubs and manicured gardens were the idy llic playgrounds for the island's elite for generations. But after signi ficant political unrest and a series of military coups disrupts the isla nd's tranquility\, the author's brother John Scott and his lover Greg Sc rivener are murdered in a brutal hate crime of horrific violence. In the wake of the tragedy\, Goldson and Scott travel back to the island in se arch of the truth about the murders\, revealing layers of history and fa mily intrigue that unfolded amidst the end of colonial rule and the figh t for Fijian independence. \n -Chris McDonald CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/anislandcalling_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61811977-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T200700 SUMMARY:It's Always Late for Freedom DESCRIPTION:In this eye-opening and hopeful portrait of a Tehranian youth correctional centre\, filmmaker Mehrdad Oskouei introduces us to a smal l group of teenage boys serving sentences related to violence\, theft an d drugs. We follow three in particular\, each of whom demonstrates an un likely blend of world-weary toughness\, street-smarts and a mature compa ssion. Their troubled circumstance suggests that they have been surrende red by their families\, and the country\, to the growing Iranian epidemi cs of addiction and poverty. In the face of adult abandonment\, though\, the three discover the simple joys of childhood and friendship through a "boys will be boys" routine of mischief\, pranks and sports. In intima te interviews they open up\, sharing fierce hopes and tender frustration s for their lives beyond the centre's walls\; but Oskouei always delicat ely pulls back from showing us too much of their families and outside li ves. This is a heartbreaking and heartwarming film of generations lost a nd childhood found.\n -Brett Hendrie CATEGORIES:Spotlight On Iran LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/itsalwayslateforfreedom_hotdoc s2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61824261-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T220200 SUMMARY:Stalags - Holocaust and Pornography in Israel DESCRIPTION:The improbable but true story of a wildly popular series of r acy paperbacks called 'Stalags'. They became national bestsellers and to ok conservative Israel by storm in the early 1960s. Their perverse and b izarre narratives\, based on Nazi themes\, were the only erotic 'literat ure' available in the country at that time (one of the more lurid books was titled I Was Colonel Shultz’s Private Bitch). \nDisguised as America n publications\, it was later discovered that these tales of female SS o fficers with boots and whips were in fact penned and published by Israel i Jews. The Stalag phenomenon immediately followed the notorious Adolph Eichmann trial\, which was credited as a factor behind the genre’s bruta l and sadistic tone. At a time when Holocaust scholarship was in its inf ancy\, for many young Israelis these pornographic fictions were their fi rst exposure to the brutal realities of the Second World War. CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/stalagsholocaustandpornography inisrael_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61914604-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T225700 SUMMARY:Eleven Minutes DESCRIPTION:It's been two years since quick-witted Jay McCarroll was anoi nted the winner of Project Runway's first season. Eleven Minutes catches up with Jay as he pulls together his first collection in preparation fo r New York Fashion Week. The designer is a blast to watch\, fresh and jo yous despite stress\, uncertainty and tremendous pressure. At the end of the day Jay is doing what he loves\, but the realization of a dream is often not as exciting or glamorous as the dreaming itself. We watch Jay transform from a one-man DIY operation into a mass-producing\, Chinese o ut-sourcing business machine. Eleven Minutes captures that special momen t in time before things get jaded and blasé. A hilarious and irreverent look at the creative process and the friction between commerce and art\, fame and talent\, reality-TV and actuality.\n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/elevenminutes_hotdocs2008;jses sionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61908655-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T230500 SUMMARY:Planet B-Boy DESCRIPTION:Kids in Osaka\, Paris\, Seoul and Las Vegas are all doing it- B-boying\, breakin'\, bustin' moves you've gotta see to believe! Planet B-Boy features insane dance performances\, unforgettable power moves\, i mpossible synchronization and sweet choreography. The film tracks the ev olution of a street dance turned universal art form\, culminating in an international showdown. B-boy crews from 18 different countries face-off in Germany at the annual "Battle of the Year" World Championships\, eag er to reprazent. Behind the dancers' infectious energy and mad skillz li e personal stories that inspire and drive them: an American dancer strug gles for a break\, a Korean son seeks his father's approval\, a 12-year- old French boy confronts his family's racism and a Japanese B-boy pays t ribute to his dead father. All of the dancers struggle to be understood by their families and society at large. The globalization of hip-hop cul ture is here-r u ready? \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/planetbboy_hotdocs2008;jsessio nid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61912231-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T225000 SUMMARY:Suddenly\, Last Winter DESCRIPTION:Gustav and Luca are journalists\, filmmakers and long-term bo yfriends living a comfortable life in Rome. When right-winger Silvio Ber lusconi's government is replaced by a centre-left coalition\, Italians a re promised a new law that would increase rights for unmarried and gay c ouples. Unfortunately for Gustav\, Luca and millions of disenfranchised Italians\, the Vatican\, conservative politicians and family-values advo cates don't share their more liberal views. With anti-gay sentiment runn ing high\, rallies are held\, politicians are lobbied and wagons are cir cled. With a very light touch and a good measure of patience and humour\ , Gustav and Luca attempt to navigate the roadblocks\, landmines and min dboggling bureaucracy standing between themselves and their equal rights . The intrepid and at times reluctant filmmakers maintain a steady pace in this study of an ancient culture in flux and a modern couple in love. \n -Chris McDonald CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Cumberland Cinemas 2 URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/suddenlylastwinter_hotdocs2008 ;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61915172-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T230400 SUMMARY:Dreams with Sharp Teeth DESCRIPTION:From the producer of Grizzly Man comes a literary documentary that will send you back to your bookshelf\, out to the library and into the bookstore. Harlan Ellison may be the greatest unknown writer of our time. Like Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut\, Ellison's work was original ly shunted into the literary ghetto\, but now it defines its own unique genre. This is a portrait of the artist as a rage-a-holic. Passionate\, intelligent\, wounded\, hilarious\, contentious-words don't do justice t o a man who manipulates them so well. Infinitely watchable\, Ellison spe aks to his life and creative process with the same fervour\, self-awaren ess and imagination that he uses to write. Dreams With Sharp Teeth bring s Ellison's magnetic personality and prolific work to life\, featuring a ppearances by Robin Williams and Neil Gaiman\, as well as an original sc ore composed and performed by Richard Thompson.\n -Angie Driscoll\n\n C o-presented with Toronto After Dark Film Festival\, the festival of new horror and fantasy cinema CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/dreamswithsharpteeth_hotdocs20 08;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61922912-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T222200 SUMMARY:Bloody Cartoons DESCRIPTION:What do Danish cartoons tell us about contemporary democracy? A lot\, it seems. Bloody Cartoons examines the aftermath of the violent furor that erupted in Muslim countries around the world when the indepe ndent Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in September 2005. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called the controversy Denmark's worst international crisis since W orld War II. Freedom of expression is seen by many as an indispensable p rinciple of democracy. But what happens when one democratic right infrin ges on the rights of others? Is democracy itself shaped by religion? Are religions democratic? More importantly\, is God democratic? Profiling v arious subjects in Lebanon\, Iran\, Syria\, Qatar\, France\, Turkey and Denmark who played key roles in the cartoon controversy\, Bloody Cartoon s peels back the layers to document the escalation of the political cont roversy. CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/bloodycartoons_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61931735-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T230200 SUMMARY:Killer Poet DESCRIPTION:Norman Porter\, a convicted double murderer\, served 25 years in prison as an exemplary inmate\, only to escape after being denied a commutation. For two decades Porter eluded police. The case went cold un til a Google search led cops to Chicago\, where Porter had reinvented hi mself as J.J. Jameson: churchgoer\, handyman\, published poet and member of the coffeehouse intelligentsia. Right after he was named Chicago's " poet of the month\," the long arm of the law finally caught up with him. Killer Poet details the life of the mind despite the confines of prison . Porter's poems offer vivid proof that prison provides fertile ground f or creative expression\, if permitted\, following the grand tradition of Robert E. Burns and Jean Genet. Porter is now back behind bars. Is this evidence of the U.S. justice system doing its job? Are prisons meant to serve as sites of punishment or rehabilitation? \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/killerpoet_hotdocs2008;jsessio nid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61812241-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080424T235500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T011300 SUMMARY:Vesterbro DESCRIPTION:Young love can be wild\, tempestuous even. But when filmmaker Michael Noer gave his 20-something neighbours Julie and Martin a video camera to film their daily lives\, he had no idea what a roller-coaster it could be. In a west-end Copenhagen flat\, the do-nothing pair have a full-time time relationship: partying together\, texting each other\, ma king out and having complete emotional breakdowns. As the two lurch from crisis to surprising crisis\, Julie takes to her camera as a therapist\ , confessing her innermost desires and fears over Martin\, while he reve als complexities and hidden anxieties of his own. Will they continue to deny impending realities or defy them and hold onto their happiness? The couple's visceral self-filmed footage and Noer's intimate observations form an almost uncomfortably honest\, energetic and most modern love sto ry.\n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/vesterbro_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61818790-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T113000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T125000 SUMMARY:The Mother DESCRIPTION:The Mother is a lyrical and compelling portrait of Liubov\, a no-nonsense\, single\, working-class mother of nine in rural Russia. In Russian\, Liubov means "love"\, and while she often curses out her chil dren\, her affection is clear. Liubov's life as a mother had a heart-bre aking start-she was "sold" to a man who raped her-and now\, as a farm la bourer\, she can barely keep food on the table. With her eldest son in j ail and another with a learning disability\, Liubov has to work even har der. But as the film movingly illustrates\, her hardships are punctuated by moments of great joy\, like her eldest daughter's marriage. Liubov i s always on the move\, whether running away from her violent husband or to her eldest son in jail\, raising the question of whether she will eve r be able to be still and truly happy. Not just a sensitive and intimate portrayal of an amazing character's plight\, The Mother is also an inno vation in storytelling.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/themother_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61814592-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T132700 SUMMARY:The Black List DESCRIPTION:The derogatory connotations of the term "black list" have alw ays bothered filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and critic Elvis Mitch ell. By crafting a series of provocative and emotional interviews with 2 0 prominent African-Americans\, the pair powerfully (re)present The Blac k List for a new generation. Black leaders from diverse backgrounds incl uding Colin Powell\, Sean "Puffy" Combs\, Suzan-Lori Parks and Rev. Al S harpton\, speak directly to the camera\, boldly sharing not only persona l experiences\, but controversial views on the joys and struggles of bla ck life in America. While Toni Morrison offers positive experiences grow ing up as a black\, female child\, Lou Gossett Jr. calls out Hollywood's racism over not getting any work after winning the Oscar. Chris Rock as serts that true equality in major league baseball is achieved only when bad black players are signed\, while museum curator Thelma Golden recall s how people assumed she only worked for Thelma Golden. With stunning co mposition and incisive interviewing\, The Black List stimulates a most p owerful discussion of race\, oppression and empowerment.\n -Myrocia Wata maniuk CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theblacklist_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61792612-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T142300 SUMMARY:The Man Who Crossed the Sahara DESCRIPTION:A breathtaking journey into the mysterious life\, death and a fterlife of Frank Cole\, a brilliant\, enigmatic filmmaker obsessed with his art\, the Sahara\, life\, and most compellingly\, death. His formal ly inventive films explored his fascination with mortality\, which was a lso his fuel for life. Director Korbett Matthews fluidly wraps Cole's ha unting film footage around interviews with his family and friends to con struct a fitting meta-narrative for a man whose art and life were indist inguishable. Dreaming of conquering his nemesis\, the Sahara\, and armed with only with his Bolex camera\, Cole made the gruelling 7\,300-kilome tre\, 11-month journey by camel across the cadaver-littered desert. Over the next 10 years\, Cole worked obsessively on the film he shot there\, Life Without Death. When it was almost complete\, Cole went back to sho ot more footage but tragically\, he was never to return. The Man Who Cro ssed the Sahara is a gripping cinematic tale of artistic passion taken t o the limits of human endurance. \n -Gisèle Gordon CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/themanwhocrossedthesahara_hotd ocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61804433-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T141500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T153000 SUMMARY:An Island Calling DESCRIPTION:Based on the book Deep Beyond the Reef by Owen Scott\, vetera n Kiwi director Annie Goldson tells a fascinating and tragic story that spans four generations of a white Fijian family\, the Scotts\, considere d amongst the colonial island's most prominent and colourful inhabitants . Fiji's lavish homes\, private clubs and manicured gardens were the idy llic playgrounds for the island's elite for generations. But after signi ficant political unrest and a series of military coups disrupts the isla nd's tranquility\, the author's brother John Scott and his lover Greg Sc rivener are murdered in a brutal hate crime of horrific violence. In the wake of the tragedy\, Goldson and Scott travel back to the island in se arch of the truth about the murders\, revealing layers of history and fa mily intrigue that unfolded amidst the end of colonial rule and the figh t for Fijian independence. \n -Chris McDonald CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/anislandcalling_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61812082-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T161500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T170000 SUMMARY:Bevel Up: Drugs\, Users and Outreach Nursing DESCRIPTION:Bevel Up is a compelling documentary that follows outreach nu rses through their day-to-day work as they bring healthcare directly to youth\, sex workers\, addicts and street people in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. As they work with people in alleys and seedy hotels\, the nurs es reflect on why they do this work\, and about the respectful and nonju dgmental relationship so crucial in developing trust. That they\, and th e filmmakers\, have earned this trust is apparent in the honest\, wry an d painful observations from both nurses and street people. Nettie Wild's award-winning documentaries have shown her to be one of Canada's most s ocially committed and skilled directors\, a filmmaker who embeds her bel ief that "behind the politics in our communities lie human dramas that d eeply affect our lives" into her films. While Bevel Up stands alone as a powerful vérité documentary\, Wild has designed it to be the heart of a groundbreaking interactive DVD.\n -Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/bevelupdrugsusersandoutreachnu rsing_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61797585-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T180400 SUMMARY:Full Battle Rattle DESCRIPTION:Welcome to Medina Wasl\, a mock village at the U.S. Army's Ir aq simulation training facility in California's Mojave Desert. Here\, Am erican soldiers fresh from service in Iraq are cast as insurgents\, whil e real Iraqi exiles play civilians. Tension between soldiers and Iraqi r ole players\, many recent immigrants\, hangs thick in the air. Gunfire\, explosions\, night attacks and ambushes are skillfully scripted to refl ect possible battle scenarios on the all-too-real frontlines. Bloodied d ummies stand in for collateral damage. Death scenes and memorial service s are simulated to enhance the soldiers' training. Filmmakers Tony Gerbe r and Jesse Moss offer a startling look at this most unusual "theatre of war" and the effects on its "actors." Full Battle Rattle moves from com ic to surreal to poignant\, and provides a dead-on allegory for 21st-cen tury war and the play between make-believe and machismo that defines the American war machine. \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/fullbattlerattle_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61811079-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T200500 SUMMARY:Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about his Father DESCRIPTION:On November 5\, 2001\, Dr. Andrew Bagby was murdered in a par king lot in Pennsylvania. The prime suspect was his ex-girlfriend\, Dr. Shirley Turner\, who promptly left town and resettled in her hometown of St. John's. Brought up for extradition\, Shirley announced that she was pregnant with Andrew's child. Determined to win custody of their grandc hild and to see Shirley face murder charges\, Andrew's parents David and Kathleen Bagby transplanted themselves to Newfoundland. The ensuing cou rt case is infuriating. The relationship that the Bagbys are forced to f orge with Shirley is uncannily similar to the dysfunctional bond she had with their deceased son\, and you fear that history will repeat itself. Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne's loving tribute to a friend\, son and father is an emotional roller-coaster. Part memorial\, part scathing indictment of a malfunctioning judicial system\, Dear Zachary is a love letter out of senseless tragedy. \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:Featured, World Showcase LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/dearzacharyalettertoasonabouth isfather_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61908457-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T184500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T201000 SUMMARY:The Fallen DESCRIPTION:In February 2006\, while 63 miners remained buried under the rubble of an explosion at the Pasta de Conchos coal mine in Mexico\, the media and federal government performed a complicated fandango of disinf ormation\, cover-up and gross negligence. The Fallen is a gripping accou nt of this historic mining conflict. Owned by the country's largest mini ng company\, the mine was not safe. The events that ensued after the acc ident\, the delayed rescue attempts\, the illegal overthrow of the miner s' union leader and the revelations about President Vicente Fox's admini stration's complicity in the cover-up are jaw-dropping. And the film exp lores other conflicts between the underpaid\, overworked miners and the Mexican government's vested interest in keeping mining companies happy. Firsthand accounts by journalists\, world-renowned experts\, the miners and the working class families who make a living from the mines all pain t a terrifying picture of corruption and greed. While the bodies of the miners have still not been recovered\, their legacy will never be forgot ten.\n -Shannon Abel\n Co-presented with Mayworks Festival of Working P eople and the Arts CATEGORIES:Made In Mexico LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thefallen_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61918055-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T200900 SUMMARY:Milošević on Trial DESCRIPTION:Nicknamed the "Butcher of the Balkans\," Slobodan Milošević was brought up on war crime charges in 2002\, in what has been called th e most important legal case since Nuremberg. Milošević defiantly chose to represent himself against charges of crimes against humanity\, breach es of the Geneva Conventions\, violations of the customs of war\, and ge nocide\, all the while refusing to recognize the UN tribunal as a legiti mate legal body. Mind games\, leading questions and stall tactics were M ilošević's preferred legal strategy. His ultimate strategic manoeuvre wa s perhaps his own death from a heart attack in 2006\, just prior to the verdict. Milošević on Trial provides insight into the banal and extraord inary machinations of the international court system\, through exclusive behind-the-scenes access to principal trial attorney Geoffrey Nice and Milošević's advisors. Director Michael Christoffersen sifts through more than 2\,000 hours of footage to bring cohesion and understanding to thi s history-defining trial. \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/milosevicontrial_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61911265-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T200800 SUMMARY:Anatomy of Failure DESCRIPTION:In 1998\, controversial author Carlos Castaneda (The Teaching s of Don Juan)\, celebrated godfather of the New Age\, died in his Los A ngeles home. Five women from his notorious "harem" disappeared within da ys of his death. In 2004\, the skeletal remains of one of those women we re found at the edge of Death Valley. In a series of Californian road tr ips\, filmmaker Minou Norouzi attempts to unravel the women's obsession with Castaneda. Norouzi meets numerous Castaneda friends and acquaintanc es ranging from his dentist to a former lover and muse\, all at some tim e in their lives drawn to the mysterious figure. As her investigation pr ogresses\, Norouzi finds herself seduced by Castaneda's persona\, and fe els her life mirroring that of the women who vanished. Anatomy of Failur e is a fascinating study of the power of myth and personality.\n -Shanno n Abel CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/anatomyoffailure_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61931452-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T200700 SUMMARY:Bloody Cartoons DESCRIPTION:What do Danish cartoons tell us about contemporary democracy? A lot\, it seems. Bloody Cartoons examines the aftermath of the violent furor that erupted in Muslim countries around the world when the indepe ndent Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in September 2005. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called the controversy Denmark's worst international crisis since W orld War II. Freedom of expression is seen by many as an indispensable p rinciple of democracy. But what happens when one democratic right infrin ges on the rights of others? Is democracy itself shaped by religion? Are religions democratic? More importantly\, is God democratic? Profiling v arious subjects in Lebanon\, Iran\, Syria\, Qatar\, France\, Turkey and Denmark who played key roles in the cartoon controversy\, Bloody Cartoon s peels back the layers to document the escalation of the political cont roversy. CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/bloodycartoons_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61931739-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T221400 SUMMARY:Summerchild DESCRIPTION:Over the summer vacation\, a Finnish couple opens their home to a Russian orphan\, who lives a mere 60 kilometres away. Geographic pr oximity is about all that the generous couple and 11-year-old Sveta have in common. Sveta doesn't say much and the do-gooders struggle to pull h er out of her shell\, addressing her in Finnish\, a language she does no t understand. They communicate instead through bedtime stories\, shoppin g sprees and apiology. Summerchild is an intriguing and revelatory look at the role that performance and motive play in the act of charity. Are good intentions all that are needed to acclimatize Sveta to the West and to restore her childhood? The cultural and economic divide between Finl and and Russia is sharply mirrored in Sveta's personal struggle to conne ct with Tiina and Peter\, and to express herself freely\, outside the co nfines of the orphanage and beyond her role as charity case. \n -Angie D riscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/summerchild_hotdocs2008;jsessi onid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61915568-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T223300 SUMMARY:Waiting for Hockney DESCRIPTION:Waiting for Hockney is a compelling look at the institutional art world through the story of Billy Pappas\, a suburban Maryland artis t who embarks on a 10-year pursuit to create the most detailed portrait ever drawn and to gain an audience with one of the world's most famous a rtists\, David Hockney. After graduating from art school\, Billy had bec ome disillusioned with the scene. While working as a waiter\, he meets a man who helps him devise a plan to wow the art world. Billy chooses his subject\, his drawing method and sets to work in obsessive and meticulo us fashion. His drawing takes almost 10 years to complete. He decides th at the best man to judge it is Hockney. Will Hockney like the portrait? Will Billy burst onto the international art scene? Waiting for Hockney i s an engrossing and often hilarious film that subverts our expectations of art and artists.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/waitingforhockney_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61929322-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T220800 SUMMARY:Primary DESCRIPTION:Primary was the first film by Drew Associates where Drew and Leacock's vision for candid\, intimate filmmaking was fully realized. Th e film follows a young Senator John F. Kennedy and his opponent Senator Hubert H. Humphrey campaigning to win the Wisconsin presidential Democra tic nomination. The filmmakers approached Kennedy and Humphrey to gain p ermission to shoot speeches\, meetings\, strategy sessions and interview s\, promising never to ask or suggest an action. Both candidates agreed and the results were astonishing. No previous film had captured so vivid ly the euphoria and sweat of a political campaign. Other notable but the n-unknown filmmakers who worked on the film were D.A. Pennebaker\, Alber t Maysles and Terrence McCartney Filgate (then a major figure at the Nat ional Film Board of Canada). Nearly all recognize Primary as a turning p oint in documentary filmmaking. The new technology developed by Drew and Leacock supported their goal to film live events as they unfolded. Prim ary\, with its marriage of technological innovation and direct cinema id eology\, launched the American cinema vérité movement. \n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:Outstanding Achievement: Richard Leacock LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/primary_hotdocs2008;jsessionid =E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61930884-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T233000 SUMMARY:My Life Inside DESCRIPTION:In January 2003\, 21-year-old Rosa Estela Olera Jiménez\, an illegal immigrant from Mexico working as a nanny in Austin\, Texas\, is brought to trial for the homicide of 21-month-old Bryan Guttierez\, a yo ung boy who died under mysterious circumstances while in her care. The p rosecution is relentless in its demonization of Jiménez\, a soft-spoken mother of two who was working to one day buy her mother a house and buil d a better life for herself in the land of opportunity. With a sweeping\ , lyrical focus\, the film encompasses the obstacles\, prejudices and Si syphean struggles faced by many Mexican migrant workers who leave their lives behind to pursue the American dream. A powerful and heart-wrenchin g documentary\, My Life Inside alternates between tense courtroom drama and moving personal profile\, providing a cautionary tale about the expe rience of outsiders in the United States. CATEGORIES:Featured, Made In Mexico LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/mylifeinside_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61918339-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T220000 SUMMARY:Lovely Andrea DESCRIPTION:In Tokyo\, filmmaker Hito Steyerl searches for a photo series that she posed for in 1987 as a rope-bondage model. Looking at images o f herself shot in the nawa-shibari style\, bound and suspended in the ai r\, Steyerl broadens the film's scope beyond Japanese fetishes\, beyond her student identity and sexual representation\, to more universal metap hors of censorship and pornography. Images of "Spiderman\," other Japane se pinups and Guantanamo Bay torture scenes cascade to Depeche Mode and X-Ray Spex beats. Steyerl's sleek and subversive personal story striking ly observes that "there is bondage all over the place." CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/lovelyandrea_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61927955-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T225000 SUMMARY:Jesus Loves You DESCRIPTION:Summer 2006 in Berlin meant one thing to millions of people a cross the world: World Cup Soccer. But for 10\,000 born-again Christians \, it was an irresistible opportunity to spread the gospel to beer-swill ing\, flag-waving rowdy soccer fans. Jesus Loves You follows the efforts of a German church organization\, led by the disturbingly "hip" Tilmann Pfor\, to host thousands of missionaries from churches around the world at a German castle. Their mission\, of course\, is to convert soccer fa ns to Christianity. The film follows their awkward encounters with the f ans. When a young man shrouded in a German flag is asked if he believes in God\, he responds curtly\, "I believe in Germany." When one American tries to get Turkish Muslims living in Germany to join his congregation\ , Church 411\, the absurdity of their mission is revealed. Ultimately\, the film is an interesting study of the worldwide battle between religio us fundamentalism and conflicting world views.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/jesuslovesyou_hotdocs2008;jses sionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61931988-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T234500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T012700 SUMMARY:Eleven Minutes DESCRIPTION:It's been two years since quick-witted Jay McCarroll was anoi nted the winner of Project Runway's first season. Eleven Minutes catches up with Jay as he pulls together his first collection in preparation fo r New York Fashion Week. The designer is a blast to watch\, fresh and jo yous despite stress\, uncertainty and tremendous pressure. At the end of the day Jay is doing what he loves\, but the realization of a dream is often not as exciting or glamorous as the dreaming itself. We watch Jay transform from a one-man DIY operation into a mass-producing\, Chinese o ut-sourcing business machine. Eleven Minutes captures that special momen t in time before things get jaded and blasé. A hilarious and irreverent look at the creative process and the friction between commerce and art\, fame and talent\, reality-TV and actuality.\n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/elevenminutes_hotdocs2008;jses sionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61908678-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T113000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T125500 SUMMARY:Her Name is Sabine DESCRIPTION:French actress Sandrine Bonnaire uses intimate home-movie foo tage to create a loving portrait of Sabine\, her 38-year-old autistic si ster\, and to trace her behavioural decline. Personal footage filmed by the actress over a 25-year period shows the marked change and harm that institutional living has had on Sabine's personality and temperament. On ce high-functioning and happy\, Sabine is now lethargic and lonely with diminished capabilities. Is this the result of institutional psychiatric care or disease progression? Bonnaire visits her sister\, now living in a home in the Charente region of France\, and looks back on Sabine's hi story of mental illness. Her Name Is Sabine is an emotional questioning of psychiatric diagnosis\, the agonizing decisions involved in adult lon g-term care and the lack of specialized institutions and support. The fi lm is an urgent plea to acknowledge\, value\, support and involve differ ently-abled individuals in society. \n -Angie Driscoll\n\n Co-presented with Alliance Française de Toronto. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/hernameissabine_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61794210-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T113000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T124200 SUMMARY:Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles DESCRIPTION:Ian Holm played him as the slightly sinister Tom Frost in Dav id Cronenberg's adaptation of William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch. John Ma lkovich created a devastating portrait of Port Moseby\, his fictional al ter ego in Bernardo Bertolucci's adaptation of his The Sheltering Sky. P aul Bowles is a legendary character\, a homosexual composer and eventual ly a novelist\, who fell in love with another American exile\, writer Ja ne Bowles. \nThe two lived in Morocco for decades\, writing and entertai ning such friends as Burroughs\, Aaron Copland and Tennessee Williams. W hen Jennifer Baichwal ran away from university on a journey of self-disc overy\, she ended up in Tangier\, where she became acquainted with Bowle s. Ten years later\, Baichwal "awoke from a dream in which Bowles had di ed. And I thought 'no one has caught the complexity and subterfuge of th is person.'" Baichwal decided to film Bowles. "The conversation with Bow les you always wanted to have\," says Cronenberg of the resulting doc. CATEGORIES:Focus On Jennifer Baichwal LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/letitcomedownthelifeofpaulbowl es_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61808477-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T113000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T124400 SUMMARY:The Red Card DESCRIPTION:Murder\, social taboos and celebrity combine in Iran's answer to the O.J. Simpson trial. Nasser Khani is an Iranian hero and the coun try's top sports star: a champion soccer player and coach respected for his talent and strategy. . When his mistress\, Shahla Jahed\, is arreste d and put on trial for the murder of Nasser's wife\, his idolized story becomes unraveled. As the Iranian media sensationalize the case\, direct or Mahnaz Afzali goes beyond the tabloid headlines. With remarkable acce ss to both Nasser and Shahla through behind-the-scenes interviews and ho me-movies\, Afzali reveals the curious and cryptic tensions between priv ate lives and public personas. Shahla's courtroom testimony is sassy\, t ragically eloquent and totally riveting. Her public romantic pleas are a stark contrast to the private Nasser\, who is revealed as more of a sur ly\, self-centred slob than his superstar athlete persona should allow. Is Shahla really the murderer? What really happened in this love triangl e? The answers provided by the strange\, melodramatic courtroom proceedi ngs are inconclusive\, a mystery deepened by Nasser and Shahla's vacilla ting relationship.\n -Brett Hendrie CATEGORIES:Spotlight On Iran LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theredcard_hotdocs2008;jsessio nid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61824924-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T124500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T141500 SUMMARY:Tiger Spirit DESCRIPTION:Millions of Korean families were separated from one another i n the 1950s when war broke out between the Soviet-occupied North and the American-controlled South. For more than a generation\, families have n ot been able to visit\, speak on the phone or even write each other. Tra gically\, the last survivors to remember a unified Korea are dying witho ut ever having seen their grandchildren. Filmmaker Min Sook Lee examines the political reality with a journalist's eye and keen personal insight . To better understand the country she left as a child\, Lee examines th e consequences of history through the extraordinary experiences of ordin ary Koreans. At a war memorial site\, she meets a woman who has the fate of earning her livelihood by daily transforming her harrowing escape fr om North Korea into a story for tourists. Lee meets with elderly Koreans who yearn to see their loved ones just once before they die. One lucky family\, the Kims\, are winners in a surreal mass state-sanctioned famil y reunion in a facility in the North. Their meeting profoundly illuminat es the cost of 50 years of separation and the challenges ahead for those who dream of reunification. \n -Gisèle Gordon CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum, Featured LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/tigerspirit_hotdocs2008;jsessi onid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61807056-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T144400 SUMMARY:The Lie of the Land DESCRIPTION:Award-winning filmmaker Molly Dineen demystifies the romantic ism of the English countryside in this visceral portrait of contemporary farm life. Dineen accompanies three farmers along their daily routes\, discovering disturbing agricultural practices\, government red tape and injustice at every turn. Animals are slaughtered\, not for their meat\, not because of disease\, but because they have no market value. Dineen f ocuses on the controversial fox hunt as a starting point to reveal the c omplex economic relationship between farmers and hunters and the role th at commerce plays against animal rights-with unexpected fallout. In an i ncreasingly competitive global food market\, British farmers' rural way of life and means of making a living are quickly disappearing. The strug gle to make ends meet in a changing agrarian society is also applicable here at home. The Lie of the Land cuts a striking portrait of globalizat ion and a country's divestment in producing its own local food products. \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thelieoftheland_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61909766-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T151900 SUMMARY:Mechanical Love DESCRIPTION:In the near future\, the elderly will outnumber children for the first time in our human history. There will be a gap in the social f abric\, resulting in loneliness and depression from lack of contact and companionship. To patch this gap\, engineers like Professor Ishiguro are developing therapeutic companion robots\, near identical copies of huma ns designed to keep us company at home or in nursing homes. The film lea ds up to a revealing moment when the professor's android copy is introdu ced to his wife and daughter for the first time. Will the robot possess sonzai-kan\, a human presence? Or will it remain uncanny and strange? Wi ll his family emotionally bond to the robot? Will they eventually love h im? Mechanical Love explores the intimate and complex relationships betw een therapeutic robots and humans\, raising the question: Can robots off er a substitute for human affection?\n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/mechanicallove_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61910241-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T153000 SUMMARY:Doc It! Showcase DESCRIPTION:A showcase for teenage doc makers\, Doc It! presents the brig htest of these young voices\, screening a selection of work from submiss ions received from across the country and beyond. Visit www.hotdocs.ca f or a list of films. All films screening are eligible for the Doc It! Aud ience Award. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/docitshowcase_hotdocs2008;jses sionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61937073-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T163000 SUMMARY:Hot Docs Talks: The Feeling of Being There DESCRIPTION:Outstanding Achievement honouree Richard Leacock has describe d his goal in shooting documentaries to convey “the feeling of being the re.” Leacock and other guest filmmakers discuss this and other notions o f practicing documentary cinematography.\n CATEGORIES:Hot Docs Talks LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/hotdocstalkthefeelingofbeingth ere_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61936979-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T170300 SUMMARY:Flow: For Love of Water DESCRIPTION:Water sustains every creature on this planet. Like the Earth\ , we are 70 percent water\, with 60\,000 miles of veins and arteries str etching throughout our bodies\, pumping oxygenated blood to keep us heal thy and alive. Similarly\, the lakes\, rivers\, streams and oceans make up a vast circulatory system moving oxygenated water throughout the worl d\, keeping the planet alive. But through years of abuse and contaminati on we are killing our very life source\, our water systems. Each year\, polluted and diseased water kills more people than AIDS\, more people th an wars. More than 30\,000 people die every day from water-borne disease s. The global water supply isn't merely at risk\, it's already in crisis . To make matters worse\, the privatization of water supply and the emer gence of a global water business are restricting access to clean water t o those who can pay. Unless we instigate change\, only those who can pay for their water will survive.\n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/flowforloveofwater_hotdocs2008 ;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61909355-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T172000 SUMMARY:Suddenly\, Last Winter DESCRIPTION:Gustav and Luca are journalists\, filmmakers and long-term bo yfriends living a comfortable life in Rome. When right-winger Silvio Ber lusconi's government is replaced by a centre-left coalition\, Italians a re promised a new law that would increase rights for unmarried and gay c ouples. Unfortunately for Gustav\, Luca and millions of disenfranchised Italians\, the Vatican\, conservative politicians and family-values advo cates don't share their more liberal views. With anti-gay sentiment runn ing high\, rallies are held\, politicians are lobbied and wagons are cir cled. With a very light touch and a good measure of patience and humour\ , Gustav and Luca attempt to navigate the roadblocks\, landmines and min dboggling bureaucracy standing between themselves and their equal rights . The intrepid and at times reluctant filmmakers maintain a steady pace in this study of an ancient culture in flux and a modern couple in love. \n -Chris McDonald CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/suddenlylastwinter_hotdocs2008 ;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61915231-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T174200 SUMMARY:The Lost Colony DESCRIPTION:"In some vague newspaper article\, I read about 'newly opened KGB documents' revealing that some time\, somewhere\, in Russia an atte mpt had been made to cross monkeys with humans\," says filmmaker Astrid Bussink. The Sukhum Primate Centre in the former Soviet republic of Abkh azia is the world's oldest monkey laboratory. Once a pioneering research institute\, it fell into decay during Georgia's civil war in the early 1990s. Despite its decrepit state\, the elderly staff dream of its reviv al while urgently looking for financiers to restore the buildings for it s 80th anniversary. At times touching and often amusing\, Bussink's film follows the staff in their tireless effort to put life back into the fa ded institution. The buildings have decayed and the majority of monkeys have fled into the mountains\, but their desire and hope is kept alive a gainst all odds. The film provides a beautiful picture of the power of h opes and dreams.\n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thelostcolony_hotdocs2008;jses sionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61813489-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T174900 SUMMARY:BLAST! DESCRIPTION:Astrophysicist geeks and the scientifically challenged alike\ , enjoy! Follow along on a hardcore\, risk-filled\, scientific adventure into the heart of the Big Bang. In the ongoing attempt to unlock the my steries of the origins of the universe\, an international team of ultra- adventurous astrophysicists\, led by Dr. Mark Devlin\, filmmaker Paul De vlin's brother\, is aiming to launch a multi-million dollar telescope at tached to a NASA high-altitude balloon. And therein begins the risky and revolutionary challenges that ceaselessly plague a tireless world-class research team. Every computer chip\, every mirror fragment and even an ill-placed workman's glove could spell success or disaster. As the teles cope and team travel from Kiruna\, Sweden\, to Victoria Island\, deep in the Canadian North\, and to Antarctica\, BLAST! tells a human story-the daily frustrations\, enormous sacrifices\, catastrophic failures and tr anscendent triumphs-of scientific pursuit. \n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/blast_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E 18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61908044-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T164500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T174300 SUMMARY:A Stravinsky Portrait DESCRIPTION:Leacock was working with D.A. Pennebaker when he made /A Stra vinsky Portrait/. The film is an absorbing profile of composer Igor Stra vinsky. Much of the film takes place at Stravinsky’s home in California\ , and before Leacock and team even begin shooting\, they become part of the household. Leacock has said that in a sense\, filming almost became secondary. And the brilliant result of that intimacy is not a portrait o f a man\, but a study of an artist and his relationship to his artwork. Heated conversations about creativity between Stravinsky and other musi cians including Robert Craft\, Pierre Boulez and Rolf Lierbermann\, alon g with footage of Stravinsky at rehearsal conducting his own work\, Vari ations Dedicated to the Memory of Aldous Huxley\, convey the composer’s unique passion. Other featured performers include George Balanchine and Suzanne Farrell.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:Outstanding Achievement: Richard Leacock LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/astravinskyportrait_hotdocs200 8;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61931074-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T180800 SUMMARY:Where Do I Belong? DESCRIPTION:Faced with a nation crumbling down around them\, millions of Afghans have been fleeing their home country over the past 30 years. War \, brutal regimes and poor quality of life have made it a necessity to m ove on. Many have sought refuge in Iran\, most without official status o r sanction in that country. While there\, many Afghan men wed Iranian wo men\, often despite deep-rooted cultural frictions. Their compelling sto ries are elegantly considered by award-winning filmmaker Mahvash Sheikho leslami in Where Do I Belong? As the couples struggle to be accepted\, b oth officially and culturally\, their stark interviews expose lives fill ed with raw and uncompromising decisions about love\, country and commun al acceptance. Sheikholeslami constructs the film inside a stunning phot ographic travelogue\, filled with dramatic cinematography of rural and u rban landscapes. The stories of the mixed Afghani-Iranian marriages ofte n suggest bravery and patience\; this is a visually poetic look at endur ing\, unlikely relationships.\n -Brett Hendrie CATEGORIES:Spotlight On Iran LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/wheredoibelong_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61826859-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T181500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T201800 SUMMARY:Stranded\, I've come from a plane that crashed in the mountains DESCRIPTION:In October 1972\, a plane carrying 45 members of an Uruguayan rugby team crashes into the Andes. Their struggle to stay alive would m ake international headlines and inspires the world as one of the greates t survival stories ever told. Thirty-five years later\, filmmaker Gonzal o Arijon reunites all 16 survivors back at the crash site to share their incredible experience. A trusted friend of the survivors\, Arijon offer s recovered photographs of the scene and brilliantly recreated sequences with the utmost respect to illustrate the group's sheer bravery against insurmountable odds. As visually stunning as Arijon's homage is\, the s urvivors' candid sharing of their deepest feelings on their harrowing ps ychological and physical ordeal creates even more emotional power. While the press sensationalized tales of their cannibalism\, a survivor's own words sanctify their desperation and reclaim their dignity: "I decided I wanted to live." A cinematic tour-de-force\, Stranded is a deeply movi ng film about honour\, courage and survival. \n -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/strandedivecomefromaplanethatc rashedinthemountains_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1 A8AA UID:61794920-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T184500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T195800 SUMMARY:Belarusian Waltz DESCRIPTION:Belarus is Europe's last dictatorship\, a society of total po litical control\, mass poverty and nuclear pollution. Human-rights activ ists are regularly persecuted and mercilessly punished by an intolerant government. Fear keeps opposition in check and its citizens uniformly an d appropriately patriotic. Belarusian Waltz is the story of Alexander Pu shkin\, a performance artist who uses his "patriotic" art to protest aga inst his country's dictatorship. He is one of the very few undeterred by threats of political reprisals. Despite the risks of imprisonment and t orture\, Pushkin delights in being visibly subversive\, sarcastic and co ntroversial. Despite grave consequences he organizes public stunts that mock President Alexander Lukashenko. Director Andrzej Fidyk\, one of Pol and's most esteemed and accomplished filmmakers\, has created a thorough ly engaging\, humorous and provocative portrait of an artist and his cou ntry.\n -Sarah Whitehouse CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/belarusianwaltz_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61918915-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T201200 SUMMARY:FLicKeR DESCRIPTION:Multimedia artist\, mystic\, gay pop-culture icon and sometim e Canadian Brion Gysin wanted to liberate humanity by freeing our minds. To subvert patterns of thought\, he built the Dream Machine\, a hypnoti c flickering light source with the power to trigger the brain's alpha wa ves\, evoking a dream state. Gysin was the secret alchemist of the Beat Generation\, forever hidden in the shadow of his best friend\, artistic collaborator and soul mate\, William S. Burroughs. With the Dream Machin e\, they wanted to "storm the citadels of enlightenment." Filmmaker Nik Sheehan takes us on a magical ride through Gysin's fascinating life. Wit h a custom-made dream machine in tow\, Sheehan interviews Gysin's friend s and pop-culture icons such as Marianne Faithfull\, Genesis P-Orridge\, Iggy Pop\, Kenneth Anger and DJ Spooky. Their insights into the power o f the trance-inducing device explore creativity in its purest form and a sk crucial questions about the nature of art and consciousness. Note: Ca ution is advised for people with photosensitive epilepsy or other nervou s disorders. \n -Gisèle Gordon CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/flicker_hotdocs2008;jsessionid =E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61803795-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T202200 SUMMARY:Virtual JFK: Vietnam if Kennedy Had Lived DESCRIPTION:Virtual JFK is a fascinating investigation of one of the most debated "what if" scenarios in the history of U.S. foreign policy: What would President John F. Kennedy have done in Vietnam if he had not been assassinated in 1963\, and had he been re-elected in 1964? Using an arr ay of resources\, the film employs what Harvard historian Niall Ferguson calls "virtual history\," assessing the plausibility of counterfactuals \, "what ifs" and the outcomes they might have produced. The film examin es Kennedy's decision-making patterns\, like his responses to such Cold War events as Bay of Pigs and East Berlin. Studying Kennedy's term of pr esidency is not merely an academic exercise\; it serves as a case study of the broader issue about presidents and their decisions regarding war and peace. On the eve of a U.S. election\, Virtual JFK offers a timely a nd chilling reminder that the individual who holds the office of the pre sident matters greatly indeed.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/virtualjfkvietnamifkennedyhadl ived_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61819094-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T203200 SUMMARY:Killer Poet DESCRIPTION:Norman Porter\, a convicted double murderer\, served 25 years in prison as an exemplary inmate\, only to escape after being denied a commutation. For two decades Porter eluded police. The case went cold un til a Google search led cops to Chicago\, where Porter had reinvented hi mself as J.J. Jameson: churchgoer\, handyman\, published poet and member of the coffeehouse intelligentsia. Right after he was named Chicago's " poet of the month\," the long arm of the law finally caught up with him. Killer Poet details the life of the mind despite the confines of prison . Porter's poems offer vivid proof that prison provides fertile ground f or creative expression\, if permitted\, following the grand tradition of Robert E. Burns and Jean Genet. Porter is now back behind bars. Is this evidence of the U.S. justice system doing its job? Are prisons meant to serve as sites of punishment or rehabilitation? \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/killerpoet_hotdocs2008;jsessio nid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61812246-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T200700 SUMMARY:It's Always Late for Freedom DESCRIPTION:In this eye-opening and hopeful portrait of a Tehranian youth correctional centre\, filmmaker Mehrdad Oskouei introduces us to a smal l group of teenage boys serving sentences related to violence\, theft an d drugs. We follow three in particular\, each of whom demonstrates an un likely blend of world-weary toughness\, street-smarts and a mature compa ssion. Their troubled circumstance suggests that they have been surrende red by their families\, and the country\, to the growing Iranian epidemi cs of addiction and poverty. In the face of adult abandonment\, though\, the three discover the simple joys of childhood and friendship through a "boys will be boys" routine of mischief\, pranks and sports. In intima te interviews they open up\, sharing fierce hopes and tender frustration s for their lives beyond the centre's walls\; but Oskouei always delicat ely pulls back from showing us too much of their families and outside li ves. This is a heartbreaking and heartwarming film of generations lost a nd childhood found.\n -Brett Hendrie CATEGORIES:Spotlight On Iran LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/itsalwayslateforfreedom_hotdoc s2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61824271-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T231300 SUMMARY:Standard Operating Procedure DESCRIPTION:Is it possible for a photograph to change the world? Photogra phs taken by soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison changed the war in Iraq and c hanged America's image of itself. Yet\, a central mystery remains. Did t he notorious Abu Ghraib photographs constitute evidence of systematic ab use by the American military\, or were they documenting the aberrant beh aviour of a few "bad apples"? With his usual rigour and cinematic elegan ce\, Hot Docs Outstanding Achievement alumnus Errol Morris sets out to e xamine the context of these photographs. Why were they taken? What was h appening outside the frame? With direct testimony from the soldiers who took the photographs and who were in the photographs\, Standard Operatin g Procedure asks: Who are these people? What were they thinking? How did American values become so compromised that Abu Ghraib-and the subsequen t cover-up-could happen? CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/standardoperatingprocedure_hot docs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61794794-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T211500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T224000 SUMMARY:The Fallen DESCRIPTION:In February 2006\, while 63 miners remained buried under the rubble of an explosion at the Pasta de Conchos coal mine in Mexico\, the media and federal government performed a complicated fandango of disinf ormation\, cover-up and gross negligence. The Fallen is a gripping accou nt of this historic mining conflict. Owned by the country's largest mini ng company\, the mine was not safe. The events that ensued after the acc ident\, the delayed rescue attempts\, the illegal overthrow of the miner s' union leader and the revelations about President Vicente Fox's admini stration's complicity in the cover-up are jaw-dropping. And the film exp lores other conflicts between the underpaid\, overworked miners and the Mexican government's vested interest in keeping mining companies happy. Firsthand accounts by journalists\, world-renowned experts\, the miners and the working class families who make a living from the mines all pain t a terrifying picture of corruption and greed. While the bodies of the miners have still not been recovered\, their legacy will never be forgot ten.\n -Shannon Abel\n Co-presented with Mayworks Festival of Working P eople and the Arts CATEGORIES:Made In Mexico LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thefallen_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61918063-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T230400 SUMMARY:Dreams with Sharp Teeth DESCRIPTION:From the producer of Grizzly Man comes a literary documentary that will send you back to your bookshelf\, out to the library and into the bookstore. Harlan Ellison may be the greatest unknown writer of our time. Like Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut\, Ellison's work was original ly shunted into the literary ghetto\, but now it defines its own unique genre. This is a portrait of the artist as a rage-a-holic. Passionate\, intelligent\, wounded\, hilarious\, contentious-words don't do justice t o a man who manipulates them so well. Infinitely watchable\, Ellison spe aks to his life and creative process with the same fervour\, self-awaren ess and imagination that he uses to write. Dreams With Sharp Teeth bring s Ellison's magnetic personality and prolific work to life\, featuring a ppearances by Robin Williams and Neil Gaiman\, as well as an original sc ore composed and performed by Richard Thompson.\n -Angie Driscoll\n\n C o-presented with Toronto After Dark Film Festival\, the festival of new horror and fantasy cinema CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/dreamswithsharpteeth_hotdocs20 08;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61922971-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T221700 SUMMARY:General Idea: Art\, AIDS and the fin de siècle DESCRIPTION:In 1969 three young artists living in Toronto changed their n ames to Jorge Zontal\, Felix Partz and AA Bronson\, formed General Idea and quickly became "art stars" in an international movement that was tra nsforming conventional ideas about art. Director Mangaard presents a tri bute to their achievements through an in-depth interview with Bronson an d extensive documentation of their work. Influenced by semiotics\, conce ptual art and mass-media obsessions with glamour and celebrity\, they us ed parody\, irony and camp to subvert the constructs of popular culture. Despite their Miss General Idea Pageants and self-portraits that scream gay camp\, their sexual orientation was not publicly mentioned until th ey began to create their important body of work dealing with the AIDS ep idemic in the late 1980s. The tragic AIDS-related deaths of Felix and Jo rge in 1994 marked the end of GI as an artistic identity. \n -Lynne Fern ie\n Co-presented with Art Metropole. CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/generalideaartaidsandthefindes icle_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61926344-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T224800 SUMMARY:Waiting for Hockney DESCRIPTION:Waiting for Hockney is a compelling look at the institutional art world through the story of Billy Pappas\, a suburban Maryland artis t who embarks on a 10-year pursuit to create the most detailed portrait ever drawn and to gain an audience with one of the world's most famous a rtists\, David Hockney. After graduating from art school\, Billy had bec ome disillusioned with the scene. While working as a waiter\, he meets a man who helps him devise a plan to wow the art world. Billy chooses his subject\, his drawing method and sets to work in obsessive and meticulo us fashion. His drawing takes almost 10 years to complete. He decides th at the best man to judge it is Hockney. Will Hockney like the portrait? Will Billy burst onto the international art scene? Waiting for Hockney i s an engrossing and often hilarious film that subverts our expectations of art and artists.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/waitingforhockney_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61929434-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T230000 SUMMARY:International Documentary Challenge Screening DESCRIPTION:Hot Docs is pleased to host the theatrical premiere of the fi nalists in the third annual International Documentary Challenge\, a time d filmmaking competition where teams from around the world had five days to make a documentary film. \n\nFinalists: \n\n“All The Eights\, 88” \nTeam: Sholi \nCity/Country: Sydney\, Australia \nGenre: Biography/Ch aracter Study \n88 year old Betty Van Acker\, champion bingo player\, sh ares her secrets to finding luck in life. \n\n“Ars Magna” \nTeam Juiceb ox \nCity/Country: Seattle\, WA\, USA \nGenre: Biography/Character Study \nCory Calhoun\, creator of the famous Hamlet anagram\, is an average g uy with an obsession for finding meaning in jumbled phrases. \n\n“The A rt of Balance” \nTeam: Surge Media \nCity/Country: New York\, NY\, USA \ nGenre: Sports \nIn a society where singular dedication to a career seem s like the only way\, Gary Synder struggles to balance two lives and thr ive as both an art dealer and an Aikido instructor. \n\n“Beholder” \nTe am: Boss and Coder 34 \nCity/Country: Brooklyn\, NY\, USA \nGenre: First Person \nAn autobiographical film about a photographer's evolving persp ective of New York City. \n\n“Bend & Bow” \nTeam: Profluence Production s \nCity/Country: Brooklyn\, NY\, USA \nGenre: Experimental \nNatalia Pa ruz reveals the moment that changed her life and how she became known as the "Saw Lady" to millions of New York subway riders. \n\n“Click Whoos h” \nTeam: Reel Grrrls \nCity/Country: Seattle\, WA\, USA \nGenre: Histo rical \nAn homage to a familiar fixture of popular culture that now teet ers on obsolescence. \n\n“Ghost Bike” \nTeam: Go! \nCity/Country: Toron to\, ON\, Canada \nGenre: Art \nThis documentary explores the grassroots "ghost bike" movement - why are these mysterious white bikes being plac ed in cities all over the world? \n\n“I=me2” \nTeam: Year of the Rooste r \nCity/Country: Sherman Oaks\, CA\, USA \nGenre: Experimental \nThe pa rallels and divergences of twins Chris and Kevin--twice the documentary in the same low running time. \n\n“La Peche Blanche" (Ice Fishing) \nTe am: Rotating Planet \nCity/Country: Montreal\, Quebec\, Canada \nGenre: Sports \nAs the ice fishing season comes to a close\, families and frien ds drive to their huts on the frozen lake to get away from the city\, br eathe fresh air\, drink a few beers and fish one last time before the su rface of the lake melts away. \n\n“Jetty” \nTeam: Fly On The Wall \nCit y/Country: Portland\, OR\, USA \nGenre: Social Issue/Political \nA "Mom and Pop" fishery on the Oregon Coast is threatened by an ecologically un sustainable crabbing policy. \n\n“Meet The Freegans” \nTeam: Shields Fi lms \nCity/Country: Portland\, OR\, USA \nGenre: Social Issue/Political \nSteve is an educated man. A school teacher. A home owner. He also enjo ys eating food from dumpsters. \n\n“Pennywise: The Changing Face of Cha nge” \nTeam: Lucky Shot \nCity/Country: Silver Spring\, MD\, USA \nGenre : Social Issue/Political \nReflections on the cultural value and economi c insignificance of the American one-cent coin. \n\n“Red Light Blues” \ nTeam: Abrahami-Netz Productions \nCity/Country: Amsterdam\, Netherlands \nGenre: Social Issue/Political \nCould this be the Swan Song of the wo rld’s oldest profession? \n\n“Stick and Pound” \nTeam: It Donned On Me \nCity/Country: Foster City\, CA\, USA \nGenre: Art \nA documentary that explores the rhythmic language of the Gullah people. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/internationaldocumentarychalle ngescreening_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61937221-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080426T235500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T013000 SUMMARY:Planet B-Boy DESCRIPTION:Kids in Osaka\, Paris\, Seoul and Las Vegas are all doing it- B-boying\, breakin'\, bustin' moves you've gotta see to believe! Planet B-Boy features insane dance performances\, unforgettable power moves\, i mpossible synchronization and sweet choreography. The film tracks the ev olution of a street dance turned universal art form\, culminating in an international showdown. B-boy crews from 18 different countries face-off in Germany at the annual "Battle of the Year" World Championships\, eag er to reprazent. Behind the dancers' infectious energy and mad skillz li e personal stories that inspire and drive them: an American dancer strug gles for a break\, a Korean son seeks his father's approval\, a 12-year- old French boy confronts his family's racism and a Japanese B-boy pays t ribute to his dead father. All of the dancers struggle to be understood by their families and society at large. The globalization of hip-hop cul ture is here-r u ready? \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/planetbboy_hotdocs2008;jsessio nid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61912279-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T123500 SUMMARY:Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about his Father DESCRIPTION:On November 5\, 2001\, Dr. Andrew Bagby was murdered in a par king lot in Pennsylvania. The prime suspect was his ex-girlfriend\, Dr. Shirley Turner\, who promptly left town and resettled in her hometown of St. John's. Brought up for extradition\, Shirley announced that she was pregnant with Andrew's child. Determined to win custody of their grandc hild and to see Shirley face murder charges\, Andrew's parents David and Kathleen Bagby transplanted themselves to Newfoundland. The ensuing cou rt case is infuriating. The relationship that the Bagbys are forced to f orge with Shirley is uncannily similar to the dysfunctional bond she had with their deceased son\, and you fear that history will repeat itself. Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne's loving tribute to a friend\, son and father is an emotional roller-coaster. Part memorial\, part scathing indictment of a malfunctioning judicial system\, Dear Zachary is a love letter out of senseless tragedy. \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:Featured, World Showcase LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/dearzacharyalettertoasonabouth isfather_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61908498-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T135900 SUMMARY:To See If I'm Smiling DESCRIPTION:The frank testimonials of six female Israeli soldiers pack a powerful emotional punch. The young women revisit their tours of duty in the occupied territories with surprising honesty and strip bare stereot ypes of gender differences in the military. No information seems to be o ff-limits. The former soldiers share shocking moments of negligence\, fl ippancy\, immaturity and power-tripping. The psychological transformatio n that these young women underwent as a result of military service is bo th upsetting and riveting. The culture of war transforms people: persona lities change\, moral codes are subverted\, values are supplanted and ma sks are constructed to dull the pain of what they did and didn't do in u niform. To See if I'm Smiling illustrates how the trauma of war alters p ersonalities and behaviour\, and raises questions about the Israeli-Pale stinian conflict. Does military service create more anger\, resentment a nd disagreement\, or does it inspire understanding and empathy? Does it propagate or deter hostilities? \n -Angie Driscoll \n\n Co-presented wi th Female Eye Film Festival. CATEGORIES:International Spectrum LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/toseeifimsmiling_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61817427-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T134500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T151100 SUMMARY:S&M: Short and Male DESCRIPTION:"A short guy who is sensitive is in deep shit." So begins thi s investigation into the relationship between male height\, self-esteem and success. With humour and bite\, 5'3" Howard Goldberg tackles the tal l issue of heightism. A few sample facts: over a lifetime\, a 6' man ear ns about $280\,000 more than his 5'5" counterpart\, sperm banks have min imum height requirements for donors\, and women could be genetically har d-wired to pick the tall guy. Around the world\, the bias seems to hold true. In China\, minimum heights are posted in certain job descriptions. The French seem to have more enlightened attitudes-short can still be s exy\, thanks to Emperor Napoleon. Most disturbing is "stature-lengthenin g" surgery\, in which bones are broken\, then stretched in excruciating increments as they heal. No wonder sales for elevator shoes are so stron g. All this won't be news for members of the National Organization of Sh ort Statured Adults\, but might teach the rest of us a few things. \n -G isèle Gordon CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/smshortandmale_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61805570-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T145400 SUMMARY:The Holier it Gets DESCRIPTION:When Baichwal's father-who\, along with two other doctors\, f orced the Ontario Medical Association to change its racist immigration p olicies-passed away\, he left an unusual request. Dr. Krishna Baichwal w anted his ashes to be buried at the source of the Ganges River. Jennifer and her three siblings hadn't been raised with any formal religion\; gr owing up\, they weren't taught Hindu practices. Their father married a L ondoner\, eventually moved to Canada and had seemingly rejected his cult ure. The Holier It Gets documents Dr. Baichwal's four children as they j ourney through India and up the Himalayas to fulfill his request. Accomp anied by Nick de Pencier\, Jennifer's partner and the film's cameraman\, this film is an intimate portrait of a group of Asian Canadians whose e ncounters with India are funny\, perplexing\, upsetting and\, ultimately \, deeply revealing. "Baichwal is immensely articulate about the family experience\," writes John Doyle in The Globe and Mail. CATEGORIES:Focus On Jennifer Baichwal LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theholieritgets_hotdocs2008;js essionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61807742-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T153500 SUMMARY:Betrayal (Nerakhoon) DESCRIPTION:During the U.S. military's covert operations in Laos in the e arly 1970s\, Thavisouk Phrasavath's father was recruited to help the CIA . But when the Americans withdrew and the communist regime gained power\ , Phrasavath's father and thousands of others were declared enemies of t he state and imprisoned. At the age of 12\, Phrasavath made a harrowing escape from Laos to Thailand and eventually to New York City\, where the hardships of an immigrant's life forced him\, his eight siblings and hi s resilient mother to face an entirely different kind of war. The direct orial debut of acclaimed cinematographer Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine o f the Spotless Mind\, Neil Young: Heart of Gold)\, Betrayal is a lyrical film that fluidly incorporates archival footage\, cinema vérité\, revea ling personal interviews and visually poetic montages. Beautifully filme d over the course of 23 years\, it offers a stirring portrait of life in exile\, of the far-reaching consequences of war and the unbreakable bon ds of family. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/betrayalnerakhoon_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:90229820-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T141500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T151400 SUMMARY:Summerchild DESCRIPTION:Over the summer vacation\, a Finnish couple opens their home to a Russian orphan\, who lives a mere 60 kilometres away. Geographic pr oximity is about all that the generous couple and 11-year-old Sveta have in common. Sveta doesn't say much and the do-gooders struggle to pull h er out of her shell\, addressing her in Finnish\, a language she does no t understand. They communicate instead through bedtime stories\, shoppin g sprees and apiology. Summerchild is an intriguing and revelatory look at the role that performance and motive play in the act of charity. Are good intentions all that are needed to acclimatize Sveta to the West and to restore her childhood? The cultural and economic divide between Finl and and Russia is sharply mirrored in Sveta's personal struggle to conne ct with Tiina and Peter\, and to express herself freely\, outside the co nfines of the orphanage and beyond her role as charity case. \n -Angie D riscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/summerchild_hotdocs2008;jsessi onid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61915607-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T143000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T152300 SUMMARY:Anatomy of Failure DESCRIPTION:In 1998\, controversial author Carlos Castaneda (The Teaching s of Don Juan)\, celebrated godfather of the New Age\, died in his Los A ngeles home. Five women from his notorious "harem" disappeared within da ys of his death. In 2004\, the skeletal remains of one of those women we re found at the edge of Death Valley. In a series of Californian road tr ips\, filmmaker Minou Norouzi attempts to unravel the women's obsession with Castaneda. Norouzi meets numerous Castaneda friends and acquaintanc es ranging from his dentist to a former lover and muse\, all at some tim e in their lives drawn to the mysterious figure. As her investigation pr ogresses\, Norouzi finds herself seduced by Castaneda's persona\, and fe els her life mirroring that of the women who vanished. Anatomy of Failur e is a fascinating study of the power of myth and personality.\n -Shanno n Abel CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/anatomyoffailure_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61931456-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T171000 SUMMARY:Hold Me Tight\, Let Me Go DESCRIPTION:Acclaimed doc-maker Kim Longinotto (Sisters in Law\, The Day I Will Never Forget) brings us another incredible film about struggling children living in extraordinary circumstances. Mulberry Bush in Oxford\ , U.K.\, is a unique boarding school that caters to children who have be en expelled from regular schools for extreme behaviour. The three-year p rogramme gives them the chance to turn their lives around and re-enter t he regular school system. Longinotto spends a year at the school followi ng the progress of four charming but troubled boys. All have severe prob lems with anger and violence\; they punch\, kick\, spit and curse at the remarkably patient teachers who are trained never to raise their voices and who encourage the students to express their emotions. The film comp assionately captures the battle these children go through to give voice to the hurt they carry inside. It is a sensitive and heart-wrenching stu dy of the results of family dysfunction and also stands witness to the e ffects-bad and good-adults have on growing children.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/holdmetightletmego_hotdocs2008 ;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61794454-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T174000 SUMMARY:The Beetle DESCRIPTION:Director Yishai Orian is one of the millions of proud Beetlem anics sprinkled throughout the world. Despite the vehicle's rough and no isy ride\, underpowered motor and dubious distinction as Hitler's "car f or the masses\," the Volkswagen Beetle became the most produced car of a single design in history (Hitler himself is said to have sketched the p rototype for what would become the Beetle). Sadly\, Orian's beloved 40-y ear-old car is on its last legs and his beloved and very pregnant wife w ants it scrapped. We join the filmmaker on his extremely funny and touch ing road trip as he introduces us to the people who owned\, loved and ev en gave birth in his cherished car. As fatherhood looms\, Orian is reluc tant to let go of the past\, and he debates his options to repair or sel l the car. The Beetle was selected as the opening night film at this yea r's prestigious DocAviv Festival. \n -Chris McDonald CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/thebeetle_hotdocs2008;jsession id=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61823983-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T175000 SUMMARY:Jesus Loves You DESCRIPTION:Summer 2006 in Berlin meant one thing to millions of people a cross the world: World Cup Soccer. But for 10\,000 born-again Christians \, it was an irresistible opportunity to spread the gospel to beer-swill ing\, flag-waving rowdy soccer fans. Jesus Loves You follows the efforts of a German church organization\, led by the disturbingly "hip" Tilmann Pfor\, to host thousands of missionaries from churches around the world at a German castle. Their mission\, of course\, is to convert soccer fa ns to Christianity. The film follows their awkward encounters with the f ans. When a young man shrouded in a German flag is asked if he believes in God\, he responds curtly\, "I believe in Germany." When one American tries to get Turkish Muslims living in Germany to join his congregation\ , Church 411\, the absurdity of their mission is revealed. Ultimately\, the film is an interesting study of the worldwide battle between religio us fundamentalism and conflicting world views.\n -Shannon Abel CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/jesuslovesyou_hotdocs2008;jses sionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61932056-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T173300 SUMMARY:Cuban Song DESCRIPTION:Every image tells a story in this sensitively crafted mosaic that captures the soul of everyday life in Havana. An irresistible sound track drives and narrates the camera's sensitive observations of the mun dane and the unexpected with lyrics of love\, longing and betrayal. A wo man prepares a meal in her tiny kitchen\, construction workers toil as p eople sing on the street\, Fidel Castro appears on television playing th e paternal role and majestic waves crash into a pier as the song cycle b uilds to a crescendo that always leads back to Cuba. This timely glimpse into the lives of ordinary Cubans under Castro was the last film made b y director and DP\, Fernand Bélanger. Knowing his time was limited\, his camera is pulled to moments representing the essential pulse of life. S adly\, Belanger died before the film was finished\, so the film was comp leted by his co-directors and longtime collaborators\, Louise Dugal and Yves Angrignon. \n -Gisèle Gordon \n\n Co-presented with the Images Fes tival. CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/cubasong_hotdocs2008;jsessioni d=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:121400869-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T164500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T175400 SUMMARY:Milošević on Trial DESCRIPTION:Nicknamed the "Butcher of the Balkans\," Slobodan Milošević was brought up on war crime charges in 2002\, in what has been called th e most important legal case since Nuremberg. Milošević defiantly chose to represent himself against charges of crimes against humanity\, breach es of the Geneva Conventions\, violations of the customs of war\, and ge nocide\, all the while refusing to recognize the UN tribunal as a legiti mate legal body. Mind games\, leading questions and stall tactics were M ilošević's preferred legal strategy. His ultimate strategic manoeuvre wa s perhaps his own death from a heart attack in 2006\, just prior to the verdict. Milošević on Trial provides insight into the banal and extraord inary machinations of the international court system\, through exclusive behind-the-scenes access to principal trial attorney Geoffrey Nice and Milošević's advisors. Director Michael Christoffersen sifts through more than 2\,000 hours of footage to bring cohesion and understanding to thi s history-defining trial. \n -Angie Driscoll CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/milosevicontrial_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61911275-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T164500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T171500 SUMMARY:Lovely Andrea DESCRIPTION:In Tokyo\, filmmaker Hito Steyerl searches for a photo series that she posed for in 1987 as a rope-bondage model. Looking at images o f herself shot in the nawa-shibari style\, bound and suspended in the ai r\, Steyerl broadens the film's scope beyond Japanese fetishes\, beyond her student identity and sexual representation\, to more universal metap hors of censorship and pornography. Images of "Spiderman\," other Japane se pinups and Guantanamo Bay torture scenes cascade to Depeche Mode and X-Ray Spex beats. Steyerl's sleek and subversive personal story striking ly observes that "there is bondage all over the place." CATEGORIES:Next LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/lovelyandrea_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61927956-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T195600 SUMMARY:Football Undercover DESCRIPTION:She shoots\, she scores! An exhilarating and historic match b etween an Iranian and a German women's football team is played out in Te hran in 2006. Giving girl power its due\, Football Undercover follows th e sporty girls as they struggle against what seems like endless bureaucr atic oppression to make the game happen. Marlene\, the lead on the Berli n-Kreuzberg team\, visits officials in Germany and Tehran to lobby for i t. Niloofar\, the main player on the Iranian side\, dresses as a boy to practice in a nearby park. Narmila is living out the dream of her mother \, who gave up football when she married. Susu\, a German Muslim\, wants to learn what it's like to wear a headscarf while playing. A testimony to women's determination and strength\, Football Undercover is an inspir ing story of cross-cultural politics colliding with a group of sports-lo ving women who just want to kick some balls and make a few new friends. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/footballundercover_hotdocs2008 ;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61793058-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T184500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T204500 SUMMARY:My Life Inside DESCRIPTION:In January 2003\, 21-year-old Rosa Estela Olera Jiménez\, an illegal immigrant from Mexico working as a nanny in Austin\, Texas\, is brought to trial for the homicide of 21-month-old Bryan Guttierez\, a yo ung boy who died under mysterious circumstances while in her care. The p rosecution is relentless in its demonization of Jiménez\, a soft-spoken mother of two who was working to one day buy her mother a house and buil d a better life for herself in the land of opportunity. With a sweeping\ , lyrical focus\, the film encompasses the obstacles\, prejudices and Si syphean struggles faced by many Mexican migrant workers who leave their lives behind to pursue the American dream. A powerful and heart-wrenchin g documentary\, My Life Inside alternates between tense courtroom drama and moving personal profile\, providing a cautionary tale about the expe rience of outsiders in the United States. CATEGORIES:Featured, Made In Mexico LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/mylifeinside_hotdocs2008;jsess ionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61918377-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T200200 SUMMARY:Stalags - Holocaust and Pornography in Israel DESCRIPTION:The improbable but true story of a wildly popular series of r acy paperbacks called 'Stalags'. They became national bestsellers and to ok conservative Israel by storm in the early 1960s. Their perverse and b izarre narratives\, based on Nazi themes\, were the only erotic 'literat ure' available in the country at that time (one of the more lurid books was titled I Was Colonel Shultz’s Private Bitch). \nDisguised as America n publications\, it was later discovered that these tales of female SS o fficers with boots and whips were in fact penned and published by Israel i Jews. The Stalag phenomenon immediately followed the notorious Adolph Eichmann trial\, which was credited as a factor behind the genre’s bruta l and sadistic tone. At a time when Holocaust scholarship was in its inf ancy\, for many young Israelis these pornographic fictions were their fi rst exposure to the brutal realities of the Second World War. CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/stalagsholocaustandpornography inisrael_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61914680-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T194500 SUMMARY:Ex-voto for Three Souls DESCRIPTION:This lyrical doc explores with sensitivity and breathtaking i magery the lives of three Mexicans who live\, like many\, on the edge of hope. The lives of a boxer\, a fisherman and an ailing old woman are in tertwined. Each prays to God to deliver him or her a specific miracle. M eanwhile\, they struggle to survive. Ex-voto For Three Souls is a film a bout the unbelievable human capacity to resist\, adapt and create.\n -Sh annon Abel\n screening with SECOND SIGHT CATEGORIES:Made In Mexico LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/exvotoforthreesouls_hotdocs200 8;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61917781-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T195200 SUMMARY:Second Sight DESCRIPTION:Time is the same as it was 3\,000 years ago. It's we who have changed. If we would just slow down\, wander and listen\, maybe we'd se e things we currently don't. Step into the rugged vermillion landscapes of Scotland's remote Isle of Skye and meet Donald Angus MacLean\, one of the last of a generation raised with the Gaelic oral tradition rather t han electricity and television. "Don Angie" is an old charmer\, a man of the church who has listened with an open and curious mind to a lot of " terribly strange stories" in his long life. The camera roves with him th rough gorgeously shot craggy hillsides to the sites of these spine-tingl ing stories of spectres\, ghost cars\, death foretold and the "second si ght." This softly painted portrait of a vanishing era spins an irresisti ble tale that becomes a thoughtful study of life and mortality. \n -Gisè le Gordon\n screening with EX-VOTO FOR THREE SOULS CATEGORIES:Make Me A Believer LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/secondsight_hotdocs2008;jsessi onid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61917888-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T203000 SUMMARY:Nursery University DESCRIPTION:And you thought getting into college was hard! In post-9/11 N ew York City\, a baby boom has turned the preschool admissions process i nto a blood sport. With more than 20 applicants for every available spot \, $4\,000 consultants are hired and teams are recruited just to acquire application forms. Cue the tears\, hysterics and breakdowns - and that' s just the parents! Meet this year's contestants: from the well-heeled Manhattan corner\, Tony and Cynthia\, and Heidi and Roddy are used to ge tting what they want\, while Harlem-based Kris and Kim\, and Greenwich's Wyatt and Sneha have to be more realistic. Meanwhile\, single mom Aleta has double the problem with her twins. What starts as a race to get the ir children into the right Ivy League "feeder" schools turns into a real ity check when unexpected hiccups arrive with the response envelopes. En joy the insanity in this sweeter look at the social issues and the littl e darlings at the centre of all the fuss. -Myrocia Watamaniuk CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Al Green URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/nurseryuniversity_hotdocs2008; jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:121437702-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T191500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T204300 SUMMARY:Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma DESCRIPTION:"I don't think it's heroic...I think it's decent. I think it' s normal\," remarks 1999 Nobel Peace Prize winner\, Dr. James Orbinski\, former president of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders\, of his humanitarian aid work. While writing a book about his experiences \, Orbinski is accompanied by filmmaker Patrick Reed on a stirring journ ey back to Africa\, where he faced the world's most inhumane suffering. Reed and Orbinski paint a compassionate picture of tending to an ever-mo re-desperate population during the crises of the Rwandan genocide and So mali famine. Facing threats of violence\, lack of supplies and worsening corruption by governments who would co-opt even the word "humanitariani sm" in support of their destructive agendas\, Orbinski chooses decency o ver callousness\, care over cynicism and life over darkness even when ma king impossible decisions about who lives and who dies. \n -Angie Drisco ll \n\n Co-presented with Dignitas International. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/triagedrjamesorbinskishumanita riandilemma_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:61795082-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T223800 SUMMARY:The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins DESCRIPTION:Vanessa Beecroft\, contemporary art world star\, is as passio nate about her life as she is about her art. Her New York dealer Jeffrey Deitch aptly notes that\, with Vanessa\, there is no boundary between l ife and art. Filmmaker Pietra Brettkelly follows Beecroft during a 16-mo nth journey to the Sudan. Beecroft has been drawn to Africa as inspirati on for her art. But now her bond to Africa has deepened through her burn ing desire to adopt two orphaned babies. In a provocative and highly con troversial photograph\, we see Beecroft nurse the black babies on her ex posed white bosoms\, composing a provocative tableau that references bot h religious iconography and colonialism. As the complexities of the inte rnational adoption become apparent\, the process creates ethical and emo tional waves that travel from Sudan to New York. Brettkelly's engaging f ilm confronts the complex and not easily answerable question: is there a suitable reaction to African suffering?\n -Sarah Whitehouse\n\n Co-pre sented with CONTACT Toronto Photography Festival CATEGORIES:World Showcase LOCATION:Bloor URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/theartstarandthesudanesetwins_ hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:121331872-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T225500 SUMMARY:Anvil! The Story of Anvil DESCRIPTION:At the age of 14\, best friends Lips and Robb Reiner make a p act to rock together forever. Their band Anvil\, hailed as the "demigods of Canadian metal\," influences a musical generation including Metallic a\, Slayer and Anthrax. Though Anvil never makes it big\, they never sto p playing or believing. Following a calamitous European tour\, Lips and Robb\, now well into their 50s\, set off to record their 13th album\, Th is Is Thirteen\, in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dream. Whi le filmmaker Sacha Gervasi\, a successful screenwriter (The Terminal)\, has an eye for some of the implicit humour here\, what prevails is his r espect for the perseverance and passion that drives Anvil. Yes\, they do have an actual "11" setting on the volume knob. However\, their stamina \, even while hanging onto their day jobs\, makes Anvil the real deal\, and this the rock doc of the year. \n -Sean Farnel CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:Royal URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/anvilthestoryofanvil_hotdocs20 08;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:90222556-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T225600 SUMMARY:S&M: Short and Male DESCRIPTION:"A short guy who is sensitive is in deep shit." So begins thi s investigation into the relationship between male height\, self-esteem and success. With humour and bite\, 5'3" Howard Goldberg tackles the tal l issue of heightism. A few sample facts: over a lifetime\, a 6' man ear ns about $280\,000 more than his 5'5" counterpart\, sperm banks have min imum height requirements for donors\, and women could be genetically har d-wired to pick the tall guy. Around the world\, the bias seems to hold true. In China\, minimum heights are posted in certain job descriptions. The French seem to have more enlightened attitudes-short can still be s exy\, thanks to Emperor Napoleon. Most disturbing is "stature-lengthenin g" surgery\, in which bones are broken\, then stretched in excruciating increments as they heal. No wonder sales for elevator shoes are so stron g. All this won't be news for members of the National Organization of Sh ort Statured Adults\, but might teach the rest of us a few things. \n -G isèle Gordon CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Isabel Bader URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/smshortandmale_hotdocs2008;jse ssionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:121277024-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T223000 SUMMARY:As Slow As Possible DESCRIPTION:On his 18th birthday\, Ryan Knighton was told he would slowly go blind. Now\, 15 years later\, as he loses his last sliver of sight\, he wants to travel to an ancient church in Germany to hear the note cha nge in the 639-year-long organ performance of the John Cage composition "As Slow as Possible." He compares the note to the North Star\, "somethi ng to navigate by" as he prepares to be a non-sighted person. Director S cott Smith accompanies him on his journey as he\, like Cage\, embraces c hance encounters: he meets a man in a bear suit who has seen miracles in India\, young tourists who think he's a rock star. When he gets lost on the way to the church\, a young boy miraculously appears to guide him t he final steps. As we hear the note change\, we realize that the journey and the film are not so much about loss as about the inevitability of t ransformation. \n -Lynne Fernie CATEGORIES:Canadian Spectrum LOCATION:Innis Town Hall URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/asslowaspossible_hotdocs2008;j sessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:121356898-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20090704T050726Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T214500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080427T231300 SUMMARY:Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma DESCRIPTION:"I don't think it's heroic...I think it's decent. I think it' s normal\," remarks 1999 Nobel Peace Prize winner\, Dr. James Orbinski\, former president of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders\, of his humanitarian aid work. While writing a book about his experiences \, Orbinski is accompanied by filmmaker Patrick Reed on a stirring journ ey back to Africa\, where he faced the world's most inhumane suffering. Reed and Orbinski paint a compassionate picture of tending to an ever-mo re-desperate population during the crises of the Rwandan genocide and So mali famine. Facing threats of violence\, lack of supplies and worsening corruption by governments who would co-opt even the word "humanitariani sm" in support of their destructive agendas\, Orbinski chooses decency o ver callousness\, care over cynicism and life over darkness even when ma king impossible decisions about who lives and who dies. \n -Angie Drisco ll \n\n Co-presented with Dignitas International. CATEGORIES:Special Presentations LOCATION:ROM URL:http://hotdocsaudience.bside.com/films/triagedrjamesorbinskishumanita riandilemma_hotdocs2008;jsessionid=E18F176B340A63C50B6A25AA8EF1A8AA UID:90205469-hotdocsaudience.bside.com END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR